1924 Olympia Horse Show Poster – Buy Vintage Horse Wall Art – Lionel Edwards

1924 Olympia Horse Show Poster – Buy Vintage Horse Wall Art – Lionel Edwards Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Frank Pick, the then Commercial Manager of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), oversaw a remarkable initiative. Recognising the accessibility of nearly every London attraction through the Underground, Pick astutely understood the potential for marketing them as such. Rather than emphasising the mode of travel, Pick would call on his huge pool of talented artists to create visually striking posters that showcased the allure of the destination itself. The annual horse show at Olympia saw posters created each year to promote the event and entice passengers to travel on the Underground. This 1924 Olympia Horse Show Poster is one superb example. The bright, bold image captures a show jumper and his bay steed in mid-air, clearing the top of a five-bar gate. The puissance rider is wearing the traditional equestrian uniform of a black top hat, scarlet jacket, white jodhpurs, and black boots. The fence and the farm gate create an unusual, eye-catching graphic set against an orange and maroon background. In the top right-hand corner, the name of the event and date are offered as “Olympia Horse Show” June 20th – 28th. The important details as far as the UERL is concerned appear in the border below the poster’s image. It reads “By Underground to Addison Road, Hammersmith or West Kensington with the word Underground being Edward Johnstone’s famous logo minus the roundel. The Olympia Exhibition Centre, London In the early 1880s, Edwyn Sherard Burnaby, the then Leicestershire North MP, came up with the idea of building a National Agricultural Hall. His primary objective was to create a venue that could put on grand shows such as the military Royal Tournament. He wanted the venue to be easy for people from different parts of London and the rest of the country to reach by train. He decided the site would be a former market garden in Kensington, adjacent to West London Railway’s Addison Road station. The station was already a major passenger station on the West London Railway,serving Willesden to Clapham Junction and Richmond to Waterloo. It also became an important method of transport for visitors to Olympia. The design of Olympia followed closely in the footsteps of the popular large-scale exhibition halls that emerged after the success of the Great Exhibition in 1851. The vast iron and glass structure could seat 10,000 spectators. The stunning Victorian architecture, with its magnificent vast ground floor, is overlooked by a large viewing gallery, an ornate barrel-vaulted roof spanning 170 feet and spectacular gardens. Marble columns stood tall, exuding an air of grandeur, while the banquet rooms, adorned with elegant oak paneling, beckoned guests with their opulence. The building appears on Reynolds’ 1895 Shilling Coloured Map of London. It describes the National Agricultural Hall, Kensington as an extensive block of buildings, popularly known as “Olympia,” erected in 1886, and covering an area of four acres. The Grand Hall, 450 feet in length, by 250 feet in breadth, is said to be the largest hall in the kingdom covered by one span of iron and glass. Intended for agricultural shows, and exhibitions of all kinds; hippodrome circus; concerts, &c. The gardens adjoining cover an area of 5½ acres. The owners of the Olympia owners realised that they would be able to capitalise on its status as the largest venue of its kind in England at the time beyond hosting agricultural or military shows. Even before it officially opened, the building was given the name Olympia. The doors of the  Olympia venue swung open to the public on Boxing Day in 1886. Situated exactly opposite Addison Road station ensured access from all parts of London couldn’t be easier. The venue was soon putting on extravagant shows such as PT Barnum’s spectacle of Nero, the extravaganza the Paris Hippodrome, Imray Kiralfey’s aquatic spectacle Venice in London, Bolossy Kiralfy’s Constantinople and Orient shows, in addition to Sporting and Military events. The Olympia Horse Show It took just two years, for the venue to host what became known as the First Great Horse Show. The event was in fact an agricultural show that featured horses. Its continued success has seen an agricultural show of some description taking place at Olympia annually since 1888. The First Great Horse Show also provided the inspiration for what was to become the Olympia Horse Show and later the London International Horse Show. The First Great Horse Show of 1886 was one of the first events since the opening of the Olympia site. It was the start of a long association between Olympia and Horse Shows. It was organised by Mr Dames, who had been responsible for the running of the Bath Horse Show and was the first great horse show of the English Horse Society. In May 1889, the same group organised another event, the Great Horse Show of the English Horse Society in May 1889. The event was the first of what was intended to be an annual event and exhibitors included some of the best-known breeders and owners of the time such as the Duke of Marlborough, Earl of Londesborough and Mr. Burdett-Coutts. The idea of an International Horse Show to be held in London was conceived by Reginald Gardiner Heaton, a renowned horse breeder hailing from Cambridgeshire. During a captivating dinner gathering, Gardiner Heaton skillfully persuaded his friends to come together and organise a horse show that would attract competitors from around the world. His goal was to create a formidable event that could stand on par with the prestigious competitions held in New York, Paris, and Brussels. The dinner proved to be a resounding success, and Gardiner Heaton assumed the role of Managing Director, a position he would hold for an impressive span of over 25 years. His unwavering dedication and expertise guided the International Horse Show, shaping it into a remarkable and globally recognised event in the world of equestrianism. Gardiner Heaton formed the International Horse Show Limited Company and placed himself as director. His business partner in the venture was the then President of the National Sporting Club of Britain , Earl of Lonsdale, who was also named the President of the International Horse Show. Vice presidents included ten Dukes, nine Marquises, thirty-six Earls, fourteen Viscounts and seventy-eight Lords. Given the high level of Britain’s upper classes involved in the horse show, it is perhaps not surprising the first event was also attended by royalty including Edward VII, Alexandra of Denmark, George V, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. The inaugural International Horse Show was held at Olympia on June 7th, 1907. International participants from France, Italy, Belgium, and even Russia were entered into the competition. In the arena, horses, coaches and the expertise of their drivers were judged by a panel of judges and riders and horses tackled the ‘jumping course’ consisting of rails, sleepers, picket fences, walls, gates, and even a large turf bank. At the time jumping was not very popular, but classes did include a high jump class and a wide jumping class. For the evening performance, the audience wore full evening dresses and there were traffic jams outside the venue. The jam, however, was not made by cars and automobiles which were still a rare sight in 1907, but of horse-drawn carriages. The show was an instant success and became an annual event that was an essential part of the London social scene. The Olympia International horse show ran each year until the First World War. It suffered from economic instability following the First World War as horses became more widely replaced by the combustion engine. The last International Horse Show was held at Olympia in 1939. It was resurrected in 1947 at a different venue in White City, London. However, in December 1972, Reginald Heaton and Raymond Brooks-Ward decided to bring a horse show back to Olympia. Olympia – The London International Horse Show has since become a highlight of the equestrian calendar and part of the equestrian Christmas tradition. The Olympia Exhibition Hall went from strength to strength holding many prestigious events including The Royal Naval and Military Tournament, trade fairs, wrestling and boxing matches, the Ideal Home Exhibition, and the Motor Show. Since 1973, the London International Horse Show has been an annual feature in Olympia’s event calendar and continues to draw in large crowds today. Features over the years have included the dressage grand prix, freestyle to music and show jumping. The event’s title remains the same as it did in 1973 and recent events have seen 400 horses perform over a period of seven days. Other Olympia Horse Show Posters Although