Shell Advert - Shell Favourites (1928) - Tom Purvis - Framed Picture - 11"H x 14"W

Shell Advert - Shell Favourites (1928) - Tom Purvis - Framed Picture - 11"H x 14"W

NB. The Original advert was used in 1928

Royal Dutch Shell plc, commonly known as Shell, is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in the United Kingdom.

Created by the merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum and UK-based Shell Transport & Trading in 1907, in a move largely driven by the need to compete globally with Standard Oil. It is now the seventh largest company in the world as of 2016, in terms of revenue, and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors".

Tom Purvis was a British painter and commercial poster artist.

Purvis was the son of sailor and marine artist T G Purvis. He studied at Camberwell School of Art and worked for advertising firm of Mather and Crowther before becoming a freelance designer.

From 1923 to 1945 Purvis worked for the LNER and was allowed considerable freedom in his designs. During his time at the LNER Purvis produced over 100 posters, around 5-6 per year or one every two months.

His posters for the LNER largely avoided depictions of the trains themselves but rather concentrated on portraying the resorts that were the holiday destinations of travelers and the leisure pursuits that could be enjoyed there. Sex appeal was quite a strong element of Purvis's work, with many posters portraying women in bathing costumes with bare arms and legs—quite risqué in 1930's Britain!

As well as his work for the LNER, Purvis also designed posters for the Gentlemans' outfitters Austin Reed and for the 1932 British Industries Fair. In 1936 Purvis became one of the first Royal Designers for Industry.

He created the "It's Up to You" poster of Britannia, standing by the Union flag, during the Second World War,

Purvis fought in the First World War in the Artists Rifles