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 143 Collections and/or Records:
David Smart's Super Circus Poster, c1946 - 1999
Battersea Park, London Summer Season. Colour illustration of female equestrian in long red gown and top hat riding a white horse, trapeze act on bottom left and clown and female face on centre right, also aerial act on crescent moon on top left corner, over a blue background and blue and white borders. Printed in England by W. E. Berry Ltd. Bradford.
David Smart's Super Circus Poster, c1946 - 1999
Battersea Park. Colour illustration of female equestrian in long red gown and top hat riding a white horse, trapeze act on bottom left and clown and female face on centre right, also aerial act on crescent moon on top left corner, over a blue background. Printed in England by W. E. Berry Ltd. Bradford.
Gerry Cottle's Circus, Cottle and Austen and Burnt Stub's Circus Programmes, c1900 - 2001
Gerry Cottle Circus programmes including Circus of Horrors, Cottle and Austen, Cottle-Chipperfield Circus, Continental Berlin Circus, Moscow State Circus and Gerry Cottle's Circus abroad.
Gerry Cottle's Circus Poster, Magazine Programme, 1978 - 1979
Gerry Cottle's Circus Programme, Tuesday 18 - Saturday 29 March 1980
Gerry Cottle's Circus Programme, c1900 - 1999
White, red and blue type on white background with name of circus and programme on the front. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd, Bradford.
Great Britain's Famous Sir Robert Fossett's Circus Programme, c1900 - 1999
Red and blue type on blue background and blue and white photograph of elepant standing on a ball on the front page, inside programme. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd, Bradford and the Winfield Press, Rugby, 2p.p.
Lord George Sanger Programme, c1943
Purple type and illustration of a galloping horse on off white background on front cover, inside programme and Sanger family facts on back cover. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd., Bradford, 2p.p.
Lord George Sanger Programme, 1944
Purple type and illustration of a galloping horse on off white background with note about the war and autograph on front cover, inside programme and purple and white photograph of Princess Alexandra visiting George Sanger's circus on back cover. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd., Bradford, 2p.p.
Lord George Sanger Programme, 1946
Blue type and illustration of a galloping horse on off white background on front cover, inside circus facts, programme in the centre and blue and white photograph of Princess Alexandra visiting George Sanger's circus on back cover. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd., Nesfield Printing Works, Bradford, 4p.p.
Lord George Sanger Programme, 1947
Purple type and illustration of a galloping horse on off white background with paragraph by George Sanger on front cover, inside circus facts, programme in the centre and purple and white photograph of Princess Alexandra visiting George Sanger's circus on back cover. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd., Bradford, 4p.p.
Peter Jay Presents Tower Circus Poster, c1930 - 1990
10th Jun to 31st October. White outline of blackpool tower, colour illustrations of a clown, elephants, a crocodile, a man swinging from a vine, six women in a waterfall and a chimpanzee in swimming trucks and a pool ring, photographs of The Chucklehounds and wrestler Big Daddy. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd.
Posters, c1970 - 1979
Circus poster.
Posters, c1800 - 2011
A wide range of British and international circus and menagerie posters ranging from the 19th to the 21st century including Astley's Amphitheatre, Pablo Fanque, Polito, Bostock and Wombwell, Ducrow, Cooke, Hengler, Sanger, Smart, Gerry Cottle, Bertram Mills, Chipperfield's, Robert Brothers, Fossett, Blackpool Tower, Billy Russell, Belle Vue, Great Yarmouth Hippodrome, Austen Brothers and many more.
Posters, c1887 - 2010
Circus, variety, pantomime and magic posters including Argyle theatre, Liverpool Empire, Blackpool Tower Circus, Robert Brothers, Austen Brothers, Sorcar, Vesta Tilley, Ken Dodd, Dan Leno, Florrie Forde and others.
Programmes, c1800 - 2019
A collection of mainly British and international circus programmes and some variety and music hall programmes containing circus acts.
Robert Brothers Circus Poster, c1980 - 1989
Nelson Carr Road recreation ground. Black type with red and blue border on white background. Printed by: W.E. Berry Ltd. Bradford.
Sanger Circus Programmes, c1894 - 1999
Sanger Circus programmes including Lord George Sanger's Circus, Lord George Sanger and Pops Sanger Circus, Lord John Sanger's Circus and Sanger's Circus. Contain pantomime acts as well as circus performances in theatres venues.
Smart Circus Posters, c1946 - 1999
Billy Smart's and David Smart's Circus posters.
Super Circus '84 Poster, 1984
Peter Jay presents All New Super Circus '84, at Blackpool Tower. The Rodogels, The Coco-Tots. Colour illustrations of a clown and an elephant, black and white illustration of Blackpool Tower, photographs of the Water Spectaculer, seven clowns and wrestler Big Daddy, main background red, type multicoloured. Printed by W. E. Berry Ltd.
Additional filters:
- Type
- Archival Object 140
- Collection 3
- Subject
- Acrobats 24
- Aerialists 45
- Animal trainers 13
- Animals 106
- Art 1
- Boxing 1
- Business 2
- Circus workers 1
- Clowning 73
- Comedians 7
- Contortionists 5
- Dance 6
- Diving 1
- Dwarfs (Persons) 4
- Equestrians 23
- Escape artists 3
- Fairs 3
- Fakirs 3
- Family 2
- Fire eating 8
- Freak shows 3
- Gymnasts 4
- Human cannonball 1
- Jugglers 12
- Knife throwing 2
- Magic 4
- Male impersonators 1
- Menageries 12
- Mimes 1
- Minstrel shows 3
- Motion pictures 6
- Music 2
- Music-halls 3
- Musical performances 5
- Pantomime 7
- Performers 103
- Pierrot 2
- Puppets 3
- Ringmaster 4
- Ringmistress 1
- Showman 7
- Showwoman 5
- Singing 6
- Skating 10
- 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 16
- World War, 1914-1918 1
- World War, 1939-1945 5
- Wrestling 7
- Zoos 2 + ∧ less