The rare 1987 Tony Gwynn “At the Beach” Rawlings Gold Glove Poster

How’s this for an oddball? We came across this one in a box of mixed stock we bought from a southwestern collectibles dealer recently. It’s a full-sized poster of the late, great Hall of Fame legend Tony Gwynn during his MLB prime with the San Diego Padres.

It’s staged in the style of the timeless, cheeky Costacos Brothers  posters of the era, but this one was put out on behalf of Rawlings by a company called “Figgle International” (first we’ve heard of them…probably did one poster, then bust). Tony’s a SoCal native who played his whole career in San Diego, so being comfortable on the beach was completely natural to him! The Rawlings Gold Glove lying next to him in the sand like a conch shell is a nice touch.

Who knows how many of these ever made it up on walls back in the ’80s. It’s a mystery to us. Let us know in the comments if you had one of these up on your wall when you were a kid! And if you’re interested in owning this and happen to read this post in time, click over here to our eBay auction and give it your best shot.

Tennis Girl 1976 Poster – Photographer Martin Elliott (1947-2010), RIP

“Tennis Girl” (1976) – A Legendary Poster

UPDATE JANUARY 2013 – We now have the 35th Anniversary poster reprints of this image in stock! Available in standard 24″x36″ format, and extra-large Door-Sized format. Order now for delivery anywhere worldwide!

A sad month in the poster world, as word has reached us of the passing of photographer Martin Elliott – the man who earned a small fortune after licensing out the legendary “Tennis Girl” image to the Athena poster company in England back in 1977. Martin, trained at the prestigous Birmingham School of Photography, snapped the photo of his then 18-year-old girlfriend Fiona Butler late one afternoon in 1976, and spent the next few years competing with the classic Farrah Fawcett “Red Bathing Suit” poster for the #1 spot in the medium. Is this really a sports poster? Is it art, or exploitation? We’ll let you decide – but 2-million units sold over the years makes it a true piece of poster, and pop-culture, history.

For those of you interested – as far as we know, the only way to buy this image right now is as a limited-edition signed-and-numbered canvas print from Athena’s successor company, Vivarti. If you are interested in being notified should a moderately-priced open-edition poster reprint become available in the future, click here to send an e-mail and join the waiting list. (Order now! Links to 24″x36″ and Door-Sized editions above).