We celebrate the wonder of old railway advertising posters with a look through some of the best seaside graphic art.
In the golden age of railway advertising – the 1920s and '30s – the best designers and artists of the day were hired to produce stylised and sophisticated works. With stunning attention to detail and picturesque beachy scences, the British coastline has never looked so appealing.
Advanced printing techniques and a British holiday boom saw the trend continue well into the 1950s where modern fashions and vivid colours produced some stunning examples. Sadly, by the 1960s the trend slowly died out with the popularity of the package holiday.
For modern day collectors, vintage railways posters offer a fascinating and idealised version of British seaside life and their desirability continues to grow.
Click through the gallery below to see some of our favourite seaside examples:
Credit: © National Railway Museum / Science & Society Picture Library
All vintage travel posters are available to purchase from the Science Museum Group’s print site – ssplprints.com
SSPL Prints is the official print sales website of the Science Museum, National Railway Museum, National Media Museum and Museum of Science & Industry, including the Royal Photographic Society Collection.
