Vintage European Posters

vintage european posters is a great business. i love the posters they carry. they are very interesting. i love posters. so when i came in i was expecting to love this place, and i do!!! the service is also nice and the place itself is cool since it is kind of like a cave inside.

I soooo wanted to love this place!
Here is a run down of my experience with Vintage European Posters.
My Partner and I drove by this cute little shop and I will keep that on record… This is a really cute place. Elizabeth the owner helped us choose a poster that best fit our space and I was very happy! I’m not a huge connoisseur of these vintage posters so I have no clue on price point. Anyway my partner and I found a piece that spoke to us called «SUD.» It is a 1950s advertisement for SUD. I went ahead and purchased the poster for $ 1400 + Tax and picked out a frame and went on my way. I went home that night and decided to do some research on these vintage posters and other dealers in the same market. I located a few other dealers that had this exact same poster ranging from $ 400-​$ 600 dollars! I also looked at other posters that Elizabeth had in her collection. Some were priced right and others were way over priced based on my research. I felt at that point I had been taken advantage of with a price tag of $ 1400 dollars! I looked at all the paper work that was given to me and saw that nothing said all sales are final nor does it say anything about not being able to return the poster, so I figured this would not be a problem. The shop was closed that Monday so I had to wait till Tuesday to reach out to someone. I called to speak to the owner Elizabeth 3 times and finally at the end of «her» day she decided to get back to me.
Phone call went like this: «Hi Charles this is Elizabeth… I’m calling you back because I heard that you wanted to return your poster… I don’t typically return things and most antiques store don’t do returns…» (Last time I checked if you don’t do returns in the state of CA that has to be printed somewhere! And it’s not!) After that Elizabeth said «since you only purchased this 2 days ago I will go ahead and return this for you… However I want you to know there is a difference as to why you are only paying $ 400 dollars for the other poster.» Elizabeth would not elaborate on what she meant by this statement. However there is nothing different about the place I bought my poster from and the reason I know this is because I asked the owner of the place where what their process was for their posters; and guess what, it matches Vintage European Posters website explaining of their process to a T! The kicker of this story is the owner told me that I needed to pay a 3% fee for the credit card processing and a 3% fee for the return… so $ 90 dollars is what I paid for nothing! I have news for Elizabeth, I worked in banking management for 10 years and sold merchant services and I know there is no fee for processing returns and most merchant services will return the processing fee for the original transaction as well. So I believe Elizabeth thinks her time is worth $ 90 and was sour because I called out her prices on her posters! I’m contemplating taking Vintage European Posters to small claims court because I have never had to pay a fee to return anything in my life! And I will win because there is absolutely no documentation stating that returns are not excepted!
So here is the best thing you can do if you choose to go to VEP… Use this place as a gallery! You can go through all of Elizabeth’s posters and then if you find something you like… Go online and research! There is a guy out of Santa Barbara who has all of her same posters and you will pay a lot less! In my opinion Elizabeth has no idea how to run a business. (Had she of just done the return and not treated me in the end the way she did as well as not charging me a $ 90 fee for nothing, this review would be a lot different!)
Thanks for nothing VEP!

Vintage European Posters is a gem in the East Bay! Those of us fortunate to live near Elizabeth’s showroom get the pleasure of seeing her remarkable inventory of original poster art up close. We can listen to both Elizabeth and now also Charly provide history, context, details about the artist, and the printing methods, and experience their love for this medium. But even if you are in another part of the country (or the world) their website will give you a taste of the variety of treasures that VEPCA can make available to you.
My husband and I have purchased numerous posters from Elizabeth over the years, and it’s been our pleasure to watch her expertise deepen, and have enjoyed witnessing her becoming a true force of nature within this specialized art form. She’s a savvy business owner, and has developed connections around the world to provide wonderful and unusual pieces for her clients. Elizabeth is absolutely in her element at a show, or at a reception at her studio, turning posters and providing insights about the background of each one. Her passion for posters is truly infectious!
I enjoy receiving Elizabeth’s blog posts, which are informative and well-​written. This is not just another business selling a product. This is a resource for information about a special art form – and how a poster might best fit into your life and your home. Her recommendations for framers and framing style have always been great as well.
We were delighted to learn that VEPCA will soon celebrate 10 years in the business. The East Bay would be fortunate to have them as a resource for another decade, and beyond!

I have purchased 6 posters from Elizabeth over the past 8 years and can’t say enough about her expertise and knowledge. It’s wonderful to understand when the poster was printed, how it was printed, where it was printed and what it was used for!!!
Her honesty and love of this style of art is obvious and very contagious! I highly recommend visiting a show and seeing the amazing collection of posters they have to offer!!!

I don’t know how I could give Vepca any less than 5 stars!
So many posters, many I’ve never seen before! Tons of them large scale and hard to find elsewhere.
Elizabeth and her colleagues are super amazing and smart… and of course knowledgable about their wares (and super friendly — they encourage all sorts of ooooohing and aaaahing when they patiently turn over the stacks of posters, patiently describing each and every one)…which are predominantly European advertising posters all the way from the late 1800’s to (maybe) the 1990’s (I know the 90’s don’t sound so ‘vintage’ but trust me they are… and especially if the posters were designed by an important artist or designer).
Product, travel, war posters, advertisements, propaganda — they have it all. I recommend spending some time wandering around this place if you ever find yourself close by or try to catch them when they take their show on the road.

I had the good fortune to stumble onto VEP’s showroom in Berkeley several months ago. When I finally decided to purchase a large poster for a huge space above a fireplace, I went back and Elizabeth and her staff spent about an hour and a half showing me their stock and helping me to find EXACTLY the right piece.
My visit happened to be just before a huge show, which was fortuitous because I had their undivided attention.
This is the place to go for posters of various types and vintages. The staff are knowlegeable and nice. And their stock is FANTASTIC!

FIRST AND FOREMOST:
Let’s be clear that advertising art is not an oxymoron.
THAT SAID:
Elizabeth and her remarkable staff have turned that art into an art.
YOU HAVE TO EXPERIENCE THIS:
I was absolutely fascinated and charmed as Charly, one of Elizabeth’s super-​smart associates, took us through a stack of posters at a recent show. It was a walk through history — how art, printing, color, humor, visual motifs and messaging all changed over time.
«Notice the vibrancy of the color,» and she’d point out an original use of ink. «See how the artist approached this series.» «Look how the product is anthropomorphized …»
She must have noticed I was carrying a motorcycle helmet, because several times, as images of motorcycles came up – one was for tires, one a French motorcycle rally, one for Vespa — she’d pause a beat and sort of vibe in my direction.
«This might be for someone who loves motorcycles …» she said and moved on. I bet she was reaching out to others the same way. Totally subtle, completely aware, really cool.
AND ON SHE GOES:
Through a world of products, travel and destination, wars, liquor, shoes, whatever. I watched her and Elizabeth go through the stacks several times and always found more to see and learn.
ON MY WALL:
Well, not yet. Still saving my pennies for … hey. I’m not telling. But I suppose the point is having seen this unique and fragile art form, I have in fact made room on my wall and in my budget.
IF NOTHING ELSE:
Check out the gallery and let one of them take you on their magical mystery tour. These images are like dreams. And for not so much money you can actually take one home.

I have been following Vintage European Posters for quite a while now, looking at their catalog online and stalking them at poster and antique shows. Now that they have a great showroom in Berkeley it is easier for me to go in and try not to drool directly over the art. I really appreciate the enthusiasm, knowledge, and accessibility of their staff. They are always willing to tell you more about a poster or an artist and will talk with you while they go through their collection. Don’t be shy to ask them to set any works aside that you would like to see again later, even if you are not intending to purchase it. Recently I acquired my first vintage poster from them, a wonderful 1930 E. Maurus Franziskaner poster. Elizabeth was so helpful in selecting the right mounting and framing for it. With their magnetic walls you can really see what your new artwork will look like when you get it home. I had such a good experience there that I will use only Vintage European Posters for any future poster purchases.

I bought a beautiful Air France poster from Vintage European Poster last year. They have amazing posters and were extremely knowledge and very friendly. They also recommended a great framer. Check them out! They have shows in LA as well.