Heal's Posters

A survey of posters produced by Heal's from 1917 to 1983 and a shorthand history of what was happening in the design and retailing of furniture and furnishings in Britain in the 20th century

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A survey by Nicklaus Pevsner in the
1930s estimated that some 80-90% of manufactured goods in England were
shoddy and poorly designed. When it came to furniture only a handful of
manufacturers would have escaped such condemnation. Prime among these
was Heals of Tottenham Court Road - manufacturer, retailer, and, with
its top floor Mansard Gallery, the Mecca for Home Counties cognoscenti
of 'modernism'. Most furniture manufacturers advertised their wares in
the press but Heal's was a rare exception in the industry in its use of
posters.


Heal's posters not only relay the saga of a pioneering
enterprise but provide a shorthand history of what was happening in the
design and retailing of furniture and furnishings in Britain in the 20th
century.