Shell Heritage:

Shell has always enjoyed a rich motor sport heritage, dating back to the 1930s when the great Enzo Ferrari set up his first race team. Indeed, the 60 year association with Ferrari was celebrated in 2007.

It was during the early 1930s that Shell’s innovative approach to their advertising campaigns, by commissioning artists and giving them enormous freedom, paved the way to the expression of the spirit of Shell. The individualistic and quirky styles of the artists employed conjured up that charming and innocent period of motoring history, in a uniquely English manner.

The rise of the motor car was meteoric, from 140,000 in 1914, to almost a million ten years later, with Shell, in the guise of Shell-Mex Ltd, playing a substantial part in keeping the privately owned car on the road from the earliest days of the advent of the Motorist.

The endorsement of Shell’s miracle motor spirit as the ‘spirit of the age’ was instantly recognizable by the square red can in which it was stored and sold. The advertising of this period captures the excitement of the moment and managed to convey Shell’s miracle motor spirit as being responsible for innumerable triumphs, in no small part, due to its quality.

As a company Shell recognized that its corporate persona should reflect the rapid pace of change of the era. The car became a symbol of escape for the burgeoning population of motorist and no longer an exclusive luxury of the wealthy.

Now revered as one of the most innovative advertising campaigns of all time, the success of Shell’s unique voice ran slogans that spanned almost a decade and by its complete contrast to the mood of the Country, served to bring some levity and relief by casting a swathe of light through the deep economic recession that had plunged Britain into the gloom.

The dawn of motoring for pleasure and enjoyment, coupled with feats of speed and endurance achievements, was promoted by association, throughout the company’s advertising campaign. Shell’s light-hearted approach, the wit and vision of the campaign delighted the public through an original and effective exploitation of the circumstances of the time.

In the early 1900s Shell produced sets of charming postcards illustrating the first days of motoring. The lively and colourful illustrations refer to events of the time and capture the spirit of the period.

In 1920 the first Lorry Bill was produced. These posters were displayed on the side of delivery lorries transporting cans of fuel to customers across the country, and are characteristic of Shell’s advertising during the 1920s and 1930s. This ingenious method of advertising came about when Shell responded to public outcries against roadside hoardings in the countryside.

The most innovative designs were produced from 1932 when Jack Beddington became responsible for the company’s advertising. Under his direction a list of artists not instinctively associated with commercial art were commissioned to convey simple messages for Lorry Bills. These artists went on to become famous names in British contemporary art, including Paul Nash, John Piper, Vanessa Bell, Ben Nicholson and Graham Sutherland.

Instead of merely illustrating Shell oil and petrol, Shell produced sets of posters with subtle themes centred on catchy slogans in a wide variety of artistic styles. Posters promoted motoring as a pleasurable activity, the British Countryside and its hidden treasures or the extra ordinary range of people who relied upon Shell. Many of the artists explored different art movements such as Abstraction, Cubism and Impressionism and the Lorry Bills introduced the British public to new elements of Modern Art.

These astounding Lorry Bills have become collectors item’s today.

From the 1930s to 1950s Shell produced humorous press advertising illustrated by celebrated cartoonists and illustrators including Rex Whistler, Edward Bawden, John Reynolds and Mel Calman. Shell’s advertising was characterized by its dazzling wit, wild invention and inspired execution, and was used to entertain as well as inform British society.

During the Second World War there was a pooling of petrol, and Shell’s advertising ceased. In 1950 Shell revived its poster campaigns, but the arrival of the petrol tanker meant the end for the Lorry Bill.

In the 1950s Shell commissioned artists to produce works for a new series of advertisements that appeared in glossy magazines and as school wallcharts. They were colourful paintings based around themes such as nature and the counties of Britain. Stanley Roy Badmin, Tristram Hillier and Rowland Hilder were among the talented artists employed.

The quality of the images and the educational text that accompanied them reinforced Shell as a quality brand without actually mentioning the product. After the sixties Shell continued to bring out calendars and occasionally commission paintings, however, photography took over as the advertiser's medium of choice and campaigns no longer featured artwork as they had done before.

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The Shell Advertising Art Collection is one of the most important collections of commercial art in Britain.

It spans the period from the 1920s to the 1970s and contains some of the most memorable advertising ever produced in Britain. The collection contains posters, press advertisements, paintings and illustrations, as well as early postcards, books and a unique collection of Valentine cards.

Previously stored at Shell-Mex House in London, the Shell Advertising Art Collection has been housed at Beaulieu since May 1993.