A north-east antiques dealer is offering customers a peek behind the Iron Curtain with a collection of authentic Soviet-era posters.
Colin Wood, owner of Aberdeen’s Colin Wood Antiques, has begun stocking the vintage cold war propaganda after setting up a deal with a contact in the former Eastern Bloc.
The posters feature iconic Soviet scenes of factories and farmyards with inspirational mottos.
He said the pieces have been selling well among young and old alike and that people were struck by the strong colours and images.
He said: “You can get a lot of copies on the internet but these are authentic posters from the Soviet Union from 1987.
“I got them through a contact who goes travelling and that’s pretty much all I’m willing to say about the source.
“I love the art. They are such strong colours and striking images.
“I’ve had some of the messages on them translated and there are some great ones.
“One had a man reaching out with the message roughly translated as ‘nobody is thriftier than a communist.’
“Another was quite inspiring – it read something like ‘get out and test yourself’.”
Mr Wood, who has run the Rose Street shop for 46 years, is down to his last poster but hopes to have more in stock soon.
He said: “One of the things I like about them is that they seem to appeal to people across the board.
“It’s nice to see the students taking pictures of them on their phones and older people like them too because they remember seeing things like them.
“I had a housewife in, who you would never assume would want a communist poster in her house, and she bought one because she loved the colours so much.
“Some of the younger people from Latvia and Estonia and the like aren’t so keen because of the history but they say perhaps the next generation after them will be able to appreciate them.
“They’re really a part of history.”