SPEED TO THE WEST!
David Bownes, the author of several books on poster history and director of dealership Twentieth Century Posters, outlines the history of railway posters and how to collect them.
The railway poster transformed the dreary hoardings of the Victorian era into vivid outdoor art galleries, offering a new and exciting vision of 20th century Britain.
At stations across the land, a mesmerising range of travel possibilities was enticingly laid before the public in large full-colour sheets, offering escapism and entertainment for the cost of a return ticket. It was a strategy guaranteed to grab the attention of the weary commuter or passer-by.
Little-known coastal towns and historic sites were reimagined as destinations for refreshing days out or enjoyable summer holidays.
Whole landscapes were given the poster artists’ treatment, with catchy slogans intended to characterise regional identity, such as the Cornish Riviera, the English Alps and the Sunny Side of Britain – not always very truthfully, it must be said. And then there were the trains themselves.
The most luxurious services, with fine dining and even cocktail bars, were marketed as the epitome of fashionable living, while stirring depictions of the latest developments in locomotive design raced across the British landscape.
Yet it was the destination, rather than the means of travel, which dominated railway
publicity, often tailored for the target audience.
Working class resorts like Skegness were invariably advertised as cheap, cheerful and fun, while more up-market getaways were presented as refined and stylish – think Harrogate or Woodhall Spa.
There was regional variation, too. Cornwall, parts of west Wales and Ireland were sometimes given a romantic, ‘Celtic’, airbrushing to appeal to the better-off seeking unspoilt scenery. In contrast, Brighton was typically depicted as a bit racy, York a tad staid, and Scotland ruggedly mountainous and historic.
Design
Whatever the subject matter, railway posters were printed to the very highest standards and often designed by the leading commercial artists of the day.
In retrospect they seem to encapsulate the values and aspirations of an earlier age, showing us how Britain saw itself – or, more accurately, how the railway publicity men wanted us to see it. Little wonder, then, that original vintage railway posters are so eagerly sought by collectors today, but how did they come about in the first place and what survives in the 21st century?
For much of the 19th century railway posters were confined to simple letterpress notices advertising basic travel information. Early on, the railways adopted a standard ‘double royal’ format (40 x 25ins) for these notices, which remains in use today. Despite improvements in colour printing, known as lithography, British railway companies were slow to catch on to the potential of the poster as a dynamic advertising medium.
The first pictorial railway posters did not appear in England until the 1890s and most were painted by anonymous ‘jobbing’ artists commissioned directly by the printers. The results were uninspiring, typified by too much text and as many vignettes of a particular destination that the paper size would allow. It was also difficult to distinguish one company’s publicity from another, as the concept of what we call ‘brand identity’ was still in its infancy.
Origin
All this began to change in the 1900s.
The outstanding marine artist, Norman Wilkinson, designed the first truly modern railway poster for the London & North Western Railway in 1906, depicting one of the company’s steam ships crossing the Irish Sea. Published in the large ‘quad royal’ landscape
“Railway posters were printed to the very highest standards and often designed by the leading commercial artists of the day. In retrospect they seem to encapsulate the values and aspirations of an earlier age, showing us how Britain saw itself – or, more accurately, how the railway publicity men wanted us to see it. Little wonder, then, that original vintage railway posters are so eagerly sought by collectors today.”
format (40 x 50ins), Wilkinson’s striking painting dominated the poster with only minimal text. It caused a media sensation and was quickly reissued by the publicity-savvy LNWR as a coloured postcard.
Other railway companies took note. Two years later, the Great Northern commissioned the ‘poster king’, John Hassall, to design what has become one of the most famous railways posters of all time – ‘Skegness is SO Bracing!’
Periodicals like the Railway & Travel Monthly eagerly reviewed the latest additions to the hoardings; even society newspapers carried articles praising the work of upand-coming ‘posterists’ such as Charles Pears, who effortlessly combined fine art with the demands of commerce. These new posters were bold and impactful, relying on a simplified image and a short, direct message.
As the First World War approached, the leading practitioner in railway publicity was the innovative London Underground. Under the tireless direction of Frank Pick, the Tube, as it was soon known, developed a reputation for the quality of its poster art and was an early adopter of both a recognisable corporate logo (the bar and circle, c1908) and a copyrighted typeface (1916).
Evolution
Pick’s genius lay in his willingness to commission established and popular commercial artists like Hassall and Mabel Lucie Attwell, together with untried and more daring designers such as Gregory Brown, Walter Spradbery and the American Edward McKnight Kauffer, who became possibly the greatest poster artist working in Britain during the 1920s and 1930s.
The creation of the Big Four railways after the grouping of 1923 heralded a new era of poster publicity. Railway publicity departments now played a much more active role in improving the standards of poster art and creating a clear brand identity. Under the supervision of Norman Wilkinson, for example, the LMS commissioned leading members of the Royal Academy to paint a series of posters promoting destinations served by the company (1924) and continued to employ first-rate artist designers into the 1930s. Wilkinson’s own series of landscape views for the LMS contributed greatly to the success of these campaigns.
Meanwhile, the LNER took a more overtly modernist approach, typically engaging specialist poster designers (rather than fine artists) to create a distinctive house style, given further unity from 1933 by the adoption of a new logo and typeface designed by the sculptor and calligrapher Eric Gill.
Unusually for the time, the LNER initially paid its star designers Frank Newbould, Fred Taylor, Austin Cooper, Frank Mason and Tom Purvis a retainer to prevent them from working for rival railways.
By the mid-1930s even the Great Western and Southern, who had been a bit slower off the mark to develop poster publicity, were hiring the biggest names in commercial art to sell their services, including Leonard Shoesmith and McKnight Kauffer. It was all a far cry from the ad hoc days of the Edwardian era, when the role of publicity officer scarcely existed and there were few professional poster artists to choose from.
The range and styles of posters from this period is astonishing, but one subject has come to epitomise the aspirations and modernity of the interwar years above all others: the seaside holiday.
Despite the realities of British weather, resorts from the south coast to Scotland were depicted in a blaze of summer colour, invariably populated by ‘bright young things’ wearing the latest fashions and beaming youthfulness and health. In part this was because the seaside councils usually paid for half the printing costs and were keen to see their locality represented favourably. However, the quality of these dreamlike posters also ref lects the importance of holiday traffic to the pre-war railways and explains why only the best artists were engaged on the task, bequeathing a stunning legacy for collectors today.
One reason why posters survive from this period is that railway companies recognised the publicity value in promoting their posters as modern works of art, and sold copies directly to the public or distributed spare copies to schools and regional art galleries.
Prices were based on size rather than artist or subject, with a double royal typically selling for 2/6 and a quad royal for 5 shillings in 1933.
Trade was so brisk that London Underground opened a poster shop at St James’s station, while the main line railways took out press advertisements and printed posters directing would-be buyers to their publicity offices.
The practice was encouraged in newspapers, with tips on which artists to look out for and how best to frame a poster for interior décor (most advised trimming off the text).
Survival
Another reason for survival is that both the designer and the printer would retain several copies for their portfolio or archive. Railway companies, too, tended to keep multiple copies of posters on file and several of these collections (such as the former Great Western archive at Paddington) have found their ways into private hands.
Posters remained an important advertising medium well into the 1960s. After the war, the newly nationalised British Railways promoted an even wider range of destinations than its predecessors, together with posters keeping travellers informed of improvements. Some of the best-loved posters of this period depict the railway in action, such as the dramatic paintings by Terence Cuneo and David Shepherd.
By contrast, posters for specific places tended to favour a nostalgic view of the British Isles, with scenes of historic market towns and family holidays dominating the hoardings. Most were executed in a painterly style, quite unlike the bold graphic treatment of the 1920s and 1930s.
Among the leading practioners of this approach were Jack Merriott and Claude Buckle. There were of course exceptions to the rule, with the graphic posters of Daphne Padden, Tom Eckersley and Abram Games adding humour and variety to station displays.
In more recent times, photographic advertising has tended to eclipse graphic design as the preferred medium for railway posters. In the 1970s and 1980s, this resulted in some cheerful, if artistically dubious, designs featuring pop bands and TV personalities, as well as some truly unappetising designs for Travellers Fare, BR’s much mocked catering service. However, there have also been several outstanding campaigns over the last 30 years or so, most notably Eddie Pond’s graphic series for Network South East in the late 1980s and the intercity posters of Virgin Trains in the 2010s.
Today, original vintage posters have an international market, with prices ranging from a few pounds to more than £5,000 for a classic pre-war design by one of the leading commercial artists.
Railwayana auctions and specialist poster dealers are the best source for buying authentic posters, although genuine examples can turn up in unexpected places. I have bought collections discovered in lofts and outbuildings and, on one occasion, even being used as carpet underlay!
The most valuable tend to be those from the ‘golden age’ of steam (c.1920-1940), especially ones showing holiday scenes in the bold graphic style of the age. Examples by well-known artists are typically more sought after than unsigned posters, while letterpress notices (even from the 19th century) remain surprisingly affordable.
Whatever your budget, though, beware of reproductions which have been printed since the 1960s. Original railway posters were almost always produced in standard Imperial sizes, with 25 x 40 and 40 x 50ins being the most common, and printed lithographically on nonglossy paper. This process creates blocks of solid colour which can be seen from the reverse of the poster.
Look out, too, for the printer’s details at the base of the poster. These should be crisply printed and often contain date and print-run details. Reproductions generated from digital files sometimes omit these details, or they appear blurry on the printed copy.
For long-term preservation and ease of handling, posters can be laid onto linen or Japan paper backing using PHneutral materials. This is a task best left to professional conservators, who can also repair damage and rejuvenate tired paper by washing the poster before mounting. Ideally, posters should be stored flat rather than rolled, with a plan chest offering the best protection.
When framing a poster for display, avoid acidic mount boards (which embrittle paper over time) and on no account glue the poster down – this can cause irreparable damage. A reputable framer will be able to advise on this.
Lastly, some collectors choose UV filtered glass or Perspex to reduce fading through light exposure. This helps preserve original colours, but the best advice is to avoid hanging the poster in direct sunlight.
Collections
If you want to find out more about the history of railway posters, there are no shortage of publications exploring the output of individual companies, eras and artists, published by the National Railway Museum (NRM) and London Transport Museum (LTM). Contemporary newspapers, graphic design periodicals and railway staff magazines are also useful sources for dating designs. The best publicly accessible poster collections are held by the NRM, LTM and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Heritage railways are another good venue for seeing reproduction posters in-situ, while regional museums occasionally have poster shows about local places or artists, such as the retrospective of Charles Pears’ travel posters set for Pontefract Museum later this year.