The Railwayana Page
 

 

Railway Posters

 

Posters are definitely one of the "crossover" areas of railwayana and have an appeal way beyond the railway collecting fraternity.  There are definite opportunities to "arbitrage" different markets although specialist dealers have long been aware of the opportunities of buying in railwayana auctions, to sell into the general art or collectible market.  The subject matter frequently has no train or railway feature, and often featured ships, golfing scenes or hotels, as well as the usual town, seaside and countryside views.

Prices can range from £100 to many thousands.  Particularly sought after are art-deco style and pre-war continental scenes. Paradoxically, the posters are usually more sought after than the original art work.  As the posters for sale have, by definition, never been displayed in anger, the high prices paid seem counter-intuitive.  An un-carried loco plate in contrast is generally of very low value.

There are a number of specialist books available on the subject and I particularly recommend "Railway Posters" 1923-1947  by Beverley Cole and Richard Durack (published by Laurence King 1992 ISBN 1-85669-014-8), which is amply illustrated with posters in the NRM collection.  The Science & Society Photo Library offers reproductions of many posters for sale on-line and provides some good on-line images. The NRM website has a section on posters with a number of small images, and Onslows online auction catalogue also usually has a number of  images.  Plenty of other images can be found on line through the usual search engines.  The Wagon-Lits shop has a number of reproductions available for sale.

The following images are based on images downloaded from the web, public newsgroups and Onslows' site (and reduced in size).  I have adjusted the colouring in many cases using Adobe Photoshop, where the original colours have faded.  However, in buying genuine posters, one would be very suspicious of posters showing colours as bright as those shown below.

GWR "Speed to the West" by Charles Mayo, 1939, featuring a "King" class loco.  The GWR was particularly well endowed with tourist destinations.

LMS "Alton Towers and Gardens" by E W Haslehust, 1923.

LMS "Blackpool" by Fortunino Matania, 1939.  Sold at Onslows November 2001, £5,600.

The LMS persuaded Cassandre to do a couple of posters for them - here is one of them.

SR "Cross the Atlantic by White Star" by William McDowell, 1925.  Two for the price of one here as you get a ship and a train.  White Star is of course famous/notorious, for the "Titanic", and is itself a huge draw in the collecting community.

SR "See the West Country from the train" by Eric Hesketh Hubbard, 1947.  Like the GWR, the Southern had no shortage of traditional holiday destinations in the south west.

Southern Electric. Edmond Vaughan.

Another Southern Electric poster. This is one of my favourites.

LNER "Scarborough" by W Smithson Broadhead, 1936.

LNER "Take me by the Flying Scotsman" by A R Thomson, 1932.  A skit on the famous Southern Railway poster of "King Arthur" class loco and little boy.

LNER "The Forth Bridge" H G Gawthorn, 1928.

The famous Jolly Fisherman poster.  Several versions of this were produced.

LNER sold for £11,000 at Onslows several years ago.

LNER Cruden Bay.  Golf images are very popular.
Quirky willow pattern design for the London Underground.
BR "Loch Etive".  A traditional 1950s style.

A new look for the 1960s.  Not everybody's cup of tea.

Etoile du Nord (Paris - Brussels - Amsterdam) Cassandre 1927

Another Cassandre. Nord Express.  The Southern Railway gets a mention.

Chamonix.

Canton Kowloon Railway (the Chinese company) c. 1934, advertising an accelerated service.

(image from private collection of Picture This, Hong Kong)

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November 27, 2004