1943 Wickwire Spencer Steel Co. Boris A Artzybasheff Anti-Axis Demon Conveyor

Date: 1943
Artist: Artzybasheff, Boris
Size (in): 21.5” x 17”
Size (cm): 54.6 x 43.2
Condition: B+
Linen backed: No

This is a vintage original WWII era offset advertising poster created by Ukrainian born American illustrator Boris Artzybasheff for the Wickwire Spencer Steel Company of Buffalo, New York.

Artzybasheff created a series of these posters for the Wickwire Spencer Steel Company during WWII with each one rendering a surreal image of the company’s steel products destroying or menacing the Axis powers in a variety of creative and fantastical ways. This poster is printed with a 1943 copyright by the Wickwire Spencer Steel Company and depicts cartoonish figures of Axis leaders Hilter, Tojo and Mussolini riding a steel mesh conveyor belt towards a large boiling cauldron tended by an impish demon. A One-Way sign points at the boiling cauldron as the Axis leaders approach the end of the line.

This vintage original poster shows modest toning from age on the margins and light handling wear. There is a small 1/8” notch off the bottom edge and the original owner punched two small holes neatly on the left margin, both of which could be easily repaired with simple linen backing. Overall condition is very good for this rare piece from one of the most prolific and important illustrators of the 20th century.