WELCOME TO THE INAUGURAL MALLORCA VINTAGE® POSTER ART COLLECTION DELIVERING STUNNING IMAGES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN ISLAND’S BEST-KNOWN LANDMARKS TO YOUR DOOR.
Palma de Mallorca, June 15th, 2021.
The Fomento del Turismo de Mallorca, founded in 1905 and probably the world’s longest-established tourist board, is launching a series of early travel posters sourced from the Fomento’s own archives.
The Mallorca Vintage® collection is comprised of illustrative cartography from very early guide books to the Balearic archipelagos’ biggest island, produced in the 1920s; watercolours of the island’s landmarks painted in the early 1930s and rare (first edition) lithographs created in the late 1940s and 1950s. Together, these seminal artworks begin to tell the story of Mallorca’s rich heritage, its exceptional natural beauty and its luminary role at the advent of hedonistic travel in the 20th Century.
The Mallorca Vintage® collection has been made possible through a lockdown-born creative collaboration with the leading licensed travel poster art specialists, Stick No Bills®, who - having made Mallorca their global headquarters in 2016 -have now curated, digitised and remastered these spectacular historic artworks for exclusive publication from their Europe-region flagship gallery in Palma.
“We are enthralled by the array of unique artworks that we discovered in the Fomento’s archives. We feel privileged to have been granted this exclusive licence with which we can respectfully bring about their twenty first century revival. Looking forward, we are already working on many fantastic additions to the inaugural Mallorca Vintage® collection with seasonal themes and atmosphere,” says Meg Gage Williams, Co-Founder & Vice President, Strategic Alliances at Stick No Bills®.
Comments the President of the Fomento del Turismo de Mallorca, Eduardo Gamero: “During lockdown last year we had time, at last, to look back through our rich treasure trove of archive material and the early destination marketing posters that our esteemed Fomento predecessors produced with well-known artists, cartelistas and photographers of the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60s and 70s. Stick No Bills® has painstakingly spent months researching the provenance, cataloguing and refining this collection, to ensure the authenticity and the museum quality of their second edition prints and to bring our iconic images alive once more for many generations to come”. 
The Mallorca Vintage® Collection – June 2021
The inaugural nine images are derived from six of the Fomento’s most seminal first edition prints, illustrative maps and paintings plus three foreign language derivatives of the most famous of the first editions: the “Honeymoon In Mallorca” poster in English, French and German.
Stick No Bills® has produced both limited and open editions of the nine inaugural images to the highest quality on responsibly harvested, acid-free, fade resistant art board and 100% cotton-based archival fabric.
The unframed prints, all sold in dent resistant yet 100% recycled and biodegradable packaging, can be ordered at https://sticknobillsonline.com/collections/mallorca-vintage-collection or purchased both unframed and framed in the Stick No Bills® flagship gallery in Palma or via mail order to info@sticknobillsonline.com. Prints will also be on sale via the Stick No Bills® Mallorca-wide network of authorised resellers in the hotelier and luxury retail sectors. Proceeds from all sales of the licensed prints go to the vital humanitarian, conservation, and reforestation projects that Stick No Bills® sponsors, including The Red Cross, Foundation Save The Med and 8billiontrees.com.
Now, lovers of Mallorca all over the world can buy licensed prints of these images in a variety of sizes starting from 100 x 150 cm limited editions at 995E right down to designer postcards at 3,90E per card or sets of 10 cards for 29.95E and have them delivered to their door from as little as 19.95€ for 21 x 29.7cm (American A3 Sized) prints plus postage. Fast, trackable delivery is offered free on all orders over 58€ / £50 at: https://sticknobillsonline.com/collections/mallorca-vintage-collection
Chronology of the images
Viaje a Mallorca, 1928. Anon
A line drawn Indian ink map of the island created for the cover of one of the very first guidebooks: “Viaje a Mallorca” written by prolific author J.M Sallaveria in 1928 and updated and published by The Fomento del Turismo de Mallorca in a variety of formats over the decades.
Time-stamped in the 1920s in its detailing of one of the very first Aero Marítima Mallorquina sea planes, inbound from Barcelona with the island’s then 280,000 residents’ post, the beauty of ‘Viaje A Mallorca’ lies in its “less is more” simplicity and in its selection of icons so timeless in their resonance such as the olive trees and windmills that are signature to the island's interior, women bathing within the east-facing sweep of Alcudia bay, the epic caves of Arta and Drach, the Summit Cross of Felanitx, yachting in the Bay of Palma, a fisherman in Andratx, a ferry inbound from Ibiza, a cherub instigating the prevailing wind, the Ximbomba drum of Sant Antoni so idiosyncratic of Mallorca's festive traditions, the church of San Bartolomé in Valldemossa, an artist at his easel on the Deia coastline (world-famous for its effervescent north-facing light), the orange trees of Soller, the 365 Calvari steps of Pollensa and the traditional ‘Ball de Bot’ Balero dancers in full swing at the rural heart of the island.
This map, indelibly high-lighting the mountain goat head-like-shape of Mallorca, is a feat of illustrative cartography, enticing the viewer, whether a child, an art historian or a veteran resident, a newcomer or local, to revel in the abundance of the island’s traditional agricultural and architectural heritage, all set within its benevolent flora and fauna and the delightful climate of the Western Mediterranean.
Luna De Miel En Mallorca, 1949 / Honeymoon in Mallorca / Lune De Miel À Majorque / Flitterwochen Auf Mallorca Mallorca, 1950
This is undoubtedly the most iconic and successful travel poster produced by The Fomento del Turismo de Mallorca in its one hundred and sixteen year-long history.
The original illustration was done by local artist, Simón Muñoz Lemaur, who entered a Mallorca poster design competition organised by the Fomento in 1949 as part of the institution’s “big push” post-war, to promote the island as a romantic destination to couples and honeymooners all over Spain, in France, the UK and latterly in Germany.
The resultant lithograph, which was first published by the Fomento in 1950, depicts newly-wed “husband and wife” lovebirds complete with suit and tie, bonnet and their suitcases arriving on the branch of an almond tree with Mallorca’s architectural icons of Palma Cathedral, La Seu, Castell de Bellver, Basilica San Francesc, Cuevas De Arta, and the summit cross of San Salvador de Felanitx - all ingeniously illustrated within the honeymooners’ nest.
The advertising campaign was a triumph, not only abroad but also within the local community and this iconic poster was widely seen in hotel reception areas and shop windows around the island.
As of 15th June 2021 number 1/250 of the 'El Enorme' limited edition of the iconic original Castellano version of Luna De Miel can be seen displayed at Stick No Bills Europe Flagship gallery on Costa D'en Brossa in Palma's historic centre, just 150 metres from the Passeig De Born.
The first edition print was circulated by The Fomento Del Turismo De Mallorca in early 1950, a year in which the Chamber of Commerce latterly noted that “tourist numbers to Mallorca almost doubled from 1945 to 98,000* of which 22,000 were foreigners … and then doubled again to 200,000 in 1951.” To put these growth figures in context, by 2019 a record sixteen million visitors were recorded as arriving on the island during the course of the year with an astonishing 4.5 million Germans (1 in every 18 members of the Federal Republic's population); 2.4 million British (I in every 27 citizens of the U.K.) and half a million French nationals counted among them.
The cheerful “Honeymoon in Mallorca” campaign marked a turning point in the island’s history, after which tourism and the economy flourished and became exemplary to other burgeoning popular travel destinations worldwide.
Majorca, For Year Round Sunshine, Balearic Islands, 1950s.
Illustration by Jose Nieto, Valencia, late 1950s. First edition print published by The Fomento del Turismo de Mallorca, circa 1959.
This four colour lithograph, circulated by the Fomento in the 1950s and 1960s, heralds the beginning of beach tourism, quite literally ensuring Mallorca’s position at the top of the ‘bucket list’ of dream destinations.
The advert precision targeted the fast growing British family holiday market during the so-called “Baby Boom” years hence why Mallorca is cleverly written with a stick in the sand in the British way as “Majorca” and the perspective is as if through the eyes of a happy parent, looking down at the blonde-haired head of their toddler fully absorbed in playing in the sand on one of the Balearic archipelagos’ hundreds of beautiful sandy beaches.
Mallorcan Landmarks - Stick No Bills® remastered versions of original watercolours painted by Austrian artist, Erwin Hubert. (1883-1963)
Mallorca was Hubert’s adopted home. He originally moved to Palma in 1904 as secretary to the Valldemossa-based adventurer Archduke Louis Salvador of Austria (1847 - 1915, cousin of the Empress Sissi) prior to World War I. The exiled Tuscany-born Archduke of Habsburg - Lorena was one of the first foreign aristocrats to fall in love with Mallorca. He invested in a string of the island's heritage finca estates stretching through the edenic highlands between Valldemossa and Deia and through which he had footpaths built thereby encouraging an egalitarian move towards public right of way. We have the archduke to thank for setting a trend towards conservation long before the imperative to protect and preserve areas of outstanding natural had gained traction. Thus the Archduke, who's statue can be visited in the rose gardens of Valldemossa village to this day, was instrumental in safeguarding much of the natural beauty of the island from the perils of over development while still ensuring such places could be enjoyed by all.
At the outbreak of war, Hubert made his way back to Vienna and returned to Mallorca in 1920 where he lived out his years and through his paintings, served as a great de facto ambassador for the island.
Inspired by both his former employer and by the exquisite beauty all around him, Hubert became as instrumental as the Archduke himself, in upholding and cherishing the best attributes of Mallorca.
The Vienna-born artist’s delightful watercolours, mainly painted in the early 1930’s and depicting idyllic natural landscapes of the island, were acquired by the Fomento del Turismo de Mallorca to be used for posters, postcards and brochures for promotion throughout Europe.
Hubert’s paintings are said to have formed an image of Mallorca in the post-war world as an island paradise of great beauty, peace, and tranquillity. The first editions of each of Hubert’s artworks were printed by The Fomento del Turismo de Mallorca in the 1940s. Enquiries regarding purchases of the very limited number of remaining first edition Hubert prints should be addressed to info@sticknobillsonline.com.
Cap Deiá, Just Before Sunrise
Hubert painted the coastline known as the “Costa Nord” extensively and this watercolour typifies the beauty of that rugged seascape at dawn, with a view across the wild Deià coastline that has captivated and inspired thousands of local and foreign artists over the years. The specific perspective of this sea and landscape is from a private wooded estate that sits up and to the west (left) of Cala Deia so that (this most famous cove of the north side of the island) is out of sight, down to the bottom right of the image.
Cap De Formentor
This image depicts the stunning Cap Formentor in the far north of the island, highlighting the pine tree forests that extend along the shoreline and the white shape of the iconic Hotel Formentor in the background.
Cuevas del Artá
Historically, the caves were used as a pirate hideaway and in 1229 by the Moors fighting the troops of King Jaime I when they were famously smoked out of the caves. In 1806 the steps were built leading into the caves that were then opened for tourism. Hubert’s stunning painting showed the majestic scale of the site and helped promote one of the island’s first natural tourist attractions.
Such is the epic, breath-taking impact of this image when printed in our largest format 100 x 150cm that we elected number 1/250 to be the very first artwork from the Stick No Bills® Fomento Del Turismo collection on to which the King of Spain's yacht guilder's gold leafing of the Mallorca letters has been applied.
Background
The Fomento del Turismo (more commonly known overseas as The Mallorca Tourist Board) was founded in 1905. The institution was established with the objective of creating global awareness of Mallorca as an attractive destination and to study and implement how to promote the island in the optimum manner for the benefit of both visitors and its residents alike. Located in one of Palma's most handsome townhouses on the Passeig De Born in the centre of Palma, the Fomento remains a private, independent, and non-profit making entity that has a pervasive role as a centre of excellence for the promotion of sustainable tourism as well as serving as a forum where everyone engaged in tourism on the island and beyond can come and debate important issues, policies, and decide on future tourism strategy. As such, the institution is voluntarily supported by diverse members ['socios'] from leading public and private sector entities throughout the island’s tourism sector.
Stick No Bills® was established in 2011 by Philip James Baber, originally head of consumer advertising across the FT Group’s Financial Magazines in London, a professional advertising photographer and Meg Gage Williams, a former intelligence and security risk analyst turned gallerist. The British entrepreneurs founded Stick No Bills® with the objective of producing spectacular poster art and fine art prints thereof that are exclusively licensed and via which the international enterprise fund-raises for humanitarian and conservation projects underway within the iconic places championed in their poster art.
With their Europe-region flagship gallery located throughout the ground floor of a 1920s town house on Palma’s most bohemian retail street Costa D’en Brossa, (just 150 metres from the Fomento) twinned with their Asia-region flagship gallery which is spread through a 19th century Dutch merchant’s house on Pedlar’s Street in the tropical UNESCO Living Heritage City of Galle Fort, Sri Lanka, the company has cultivated strong island-wide reseller and global fulfilment networks in both territories, enabling them to sell their unframed and framed prints island-wide and to ship them to their clients worldwide www.sticknobillsonline.com.
