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 75 Collections and/or Records:
Anglo-American Circus Poster, Friday 4 Saturday 5 May 1945
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 27 July - 8 August 1964
Porstmouth, Southsea Common. Yellow type on blue background and blue type on white background with half of a clown face on the right hand side and a pink speech bubble on bottom section. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd. Bradford.
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 18 March - 3 April 1965
Birmingham, Hay Mills. Yellow type on blue background and blue type on white background with half of a clown face on the right hand side and a pink speech bubble on bottom section. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd. Bradford.
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, 17 March - 2 April 1966
Birmingham, Hay Mills. Yellow type on blue background and blue type on white background with half of a clown face on the right hand side and a pink speech bubble on bottom section. 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, 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, 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 March - 17 April 1971
Birmigham, Hay Mills. Colour illustration of three clowns, one of which is throwing a bucket of water to the viewer on a darnk blue background with yellow type above. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd Bradford.
Billy Smart's Circus Poster, c1946 - 1999
Bridlington, Sewerby Heads site, 12-17 August. Colour illustration of smiley clown's face wearing a small checked top hat and the outline of a circus tent on the right in white with fireworks on the side on a blue background and yellow, white and red type. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd Bradford.
Billy Smart's New World Circus and Fun Fair Poster, 26 June - 1 July 1950
Billy Smart's New World Circus and Fun Fair Poster, 3 - 8 July 1950
Billy Smart's new World Circus and Menagerie Poster, 24 - 29 May 1954
Edinburgh, Murray Fields. Colour illustration of acts grouped around the poster with highland cattle, a white face clown's face and an elephant behind a wheel of death on the top section, horses, chimpanzees and cebras on the centre and lions, clown faces, polar bears and an elephant in a police hat riding a motorcycle on the bottom section. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd Bradford.
Blackpool Tower Circus Poster, 1939
15 Devils of the Forest presented by Alfred Court big cat act, Emmy Truzzi equestrian act, Cairoli Trio clowns, Lou Lenny with her kicking mules, 7 Martinettes acrobats, Omega Trio, equilibrists, Doodles clown, Cavalini's canine comedians, 3 Van Normans, The Great Wallendas high wire. Main background is blue with white stars, main title in yellow, type in red and blue on a white background. Printed by W. E. Berry.
Blackpool Tower Circus Poster, 1945
Chesnut Octette equestrian act, Elephant Revue by the Six Sisters Jumbo, Victor Julian with his dogs and monkeys, Lai Founs, Chinese wonders, The Rosinas, George and Jack Dormonde, Coco and Michael and Family, Fred Sylvester and his Nephews, Three Austins clowns, Swan and Leigh comedy gymnasts, Olsen and his seal, Prince Zahoor, 16 Annette's Circusettes. Main background is blue with white stars, type multicoloured on a white background. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd.
Blackpool Tower Circus Poster, 1958
Blackpool Tower Circus Poster, 1959
Filtered By
- Subject: Clowning X
Additional filters:
- Type
- Archival Object 72
- Collection 3
- Subject
- Acrobats 24
- Aerialists 38
- Animal trainers 12
- Animals 63
- Art 1
- Boxing 1
- Business 1
- Circus workers 1
- Comedians 8
- Contortionists 5
- Dance 6
- Diving 1
- Dwarfs (Persons) 4
- Equestrians 25
- Escape artists 3
- Fairs 3
- Fakirs 3
- Family 2
- Fire eating 6
- Freak shows 3
- Gymnasts 5
- Human cannonball 1
- Jugglers 10
- Knife throwing 2
- Magic 4
- Male impersonators 1
- Menageries 5
- Mimes 1
- Minstrel shows 3
- Motion pictures 6
- Music 2
- Music-halls 3
- Musical performances 5
- Pantomime 7
- Pierrot 2
- Puppets 3
- Ringmaster 4
- Ringmistress 1
- Showman 6
- Showwoman 3
- Singing 6
- Skating 8
- Strong men 6
- Strong women 1
- Stunt performers 1
- Sword swallowing 1
- Trampolinists 1
- Transport 1
- Travel 1
- Variety 7
- Ventriloquists 4
- Wall of death 1
- War 5
- Wild west 6
- World War, 1914-1918 1
- World War, 1939-1945 4
- Wrestling 7
- Zoos 2 + ∧ less