W. E. Berry Ltd (1888 - 2004)
Dates
- Existence: 1888 - 2004
Biography
The W.E. Berry Ltd printing company was founded by William Edward Berry in the early 1900s after taking over his father’s printing company and splitting with his business partner. The original company had been founded by William Berry in 1888 at 13 Currer Street in Bradford to print advertising posters. Business soon started to specialise in the railway and entertainment sector, specially the circus industry and over time became one of the most significant printers of entertainment posters in the UK.
In the 1920s the company started to print posters for the film industry after W.E. Berry met Fred Martin at Paramount Pictures. This developed into a lucrative partnership with Berry becoming one of only three companies in Britain to specialise in printing large format posters. Successive contracts with Disney and Columbia arrived, turning Berry into one of the leading producers and distributors of film posters in the UK. Some of the most famous posters include Star Wars (1977) and Flash Gordon (1980).
The mid of the twentieth century saw the production of Berry’s most beautiful and sought posters in the entertainment sector and the company continued experiencing success until the end of the late 1990s when it employed around 140 people, including Chief Illustrator Leon Crossley and a team of freelance commercial artists. However, by the early twentieth century Berry’s fortunes started to turn and after heavy financial losses the company went into administration in 2004, ceasing business on the 4th day of February that year.
Found in 48 Collections and/or Records:
Billy Smart's Circus and Menagerie Poster, 18 - 28 March 1959
Billy Smart's Circus plus Western Spectacle Poster, c1946 - 1999
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 10 - 12 June 1962
Stratford-on-Avon, Bishopton Field, Birmingham Road. Aerial fantasy, 20 elephants, The Fairyland story, U.S. Seventh Cavalry western show, polar bears, chimpanzees, camels plus over 150 other animals. Colour illustration of clown in green jacket and red trousers holding seven coloured ballons containing the circus acts over a black starry background. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd Bradford.
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 5 - 10 August 1957
Inverness, Bught Park. The Flying Hungarian Lunasz. Colour illustration of trapeze act showing two men a woman in mid air and a clown on a blue background and a pink circus ring below. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd Bradford.
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 25 October - 11 November 1961
Wood Lane, Scrub Recreation Ground. Colour illustration of female aerial acrobatic act in red suit on centre right and clown's face on centre left with elephants, camels, lions and other circus acts underneath. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd Bradford.
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 28 March - 2 April 1960
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 27 July - 8 August 1964
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 10 - 12 September 1962
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 24 October - 12 November 1960
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 25 October - 11 November 1961
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 24 - 29 June 1963
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 18 March - 3 April 1964
Billy Smart's New World Circus and Fun Fair Poster, 3 - 8 July 1950
Billy Smart's New World Circus and Fun Fair Poster, 26 June - 1 July 1950
Billy Smart's New World Circus and Menagerie Poster, 30 March - 11 April 1951
Nottingham Goose Fair site. The Sensational Puhlmanns aeroplane aerialist, over 150 animals. Colour illustration of acrobatic aerial act showing a woman hanging by the feet and a man hunging by the mouth from an aeroplane. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd Bradford.
Billy Smart's New World Circus Poster, 15 October - 3 November 1956
Manchester, Platt Fields. Eight Flying Croneras. Colour illustration of trapezee act showing eight artistes performing in mid-air ona blue and pink background. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd Bradford.
Blackpool Tower Circus Poster, 1951
Blackpool Tower Circus Poster, 1936
Jenny and Piccolo elephants and clowns, Los Aseveras equestrian act, Sensational Berosinis high wire, Khayyam Troupe springboard acrobats, Sandor Karoly 5 equestrian act, 4 Famous Phillips equilibrists, Doodles, Nico and Alex clowns, 3 van Normans, Ballet d'Cirque, The Edmondos horeback juggler, Christian's poodles, Paul Paetzold and Co cycling comedians. Colour illustrations of an elephant, a man and a woman on horseback and an arabian palace and lake. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd.
Blackpool Tower Circus Poster, c1933 - 1990
Alfred Court with his Monarchs of the Jungle, Flying Codonas, Maximilian Truzzi juggler, Karolly Troupe equestrians, Cooke's Pony Revue, comedy jazz and boxing ponies, Gordon and Lester comedy acrobats, Ilés and Loyal, Nico and Nico, Six Rolling Wonder Girls, Loretta Ballet, Doodles, 3 van Normans, Marton Sisters. Colour illustrations of a lion, tiger, polar bear, leopard, the 3 Codonas and a couple in Edwardian costume roller skating. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd.
Blackpool Tower Circus Poster, 1943
Felix with his tigers and lions, The Cairolis musical clowns, Bertram Mills' Liberty horses, Coco the clown with Michael and Tamara, Victor Barna v Alec Brook table tennis champions, Rassana queen of the air, Jon high school act, The Circusettes, Doodles, Yangtse Chinese, Zola and Mattie, Mills' elephant ballet, Cavalini's canine comedians. Main background blue with white stars, type multicoloured on multicoloured background. First performance during wartime. Printed by W. E. Berry
Filtered By
- Subject: Aerialists X
Additional filters:
- Type
- Archival Object 45
- Collection 3
- Subject
- Acrobats 19
- Animal trainers 11
- Animals 44
- Art 1
- Boxing 1
- Business 1
- Circus workers 1
- Clowning 38
- Comedians 8
- Contortionists 5
- Dance 5
- Diving 1
- Dwarfs (Persons) 4
- Equestrians 18
- Escape artists 3
- Fairs 3
- Fakirs 3
- Family 2
- Fire eating 5
- Freak shows 3
- Gymnasts 5
- Human cannonball 1
- Jugglers 10
- Knife throwing 2
- Magic 3
- Male impersonators 1
- Menageries 5
- Mimes 1
- Minstrel shows 2
- Motion pictures 5
- Music 2
- Music-halls 2
- Musical performances 4
- Pantomime 5
- Pierrot 1
- Puppets 2
- Ringmaster 3
- Ringmistress 1
- Showman 6
- Showwoman 3
- Singing 5
- Skating 8
- Strong men 6
- Sword swallowing 1
- Trampolinists 1
- Transport 1
- Travel 1
- Variety 6
- Ventriloquists 3
- Wall of death 1
- War 4
- Wild west 7
- World War, 1914-1918 1
- World War, 1939-1945 3
- Wrestling 4
- Zoos 2 + ∧ less