Vintage advertisement posters are much sought after, and have been
recognized for their artistic merit as well giving us a chance to look
at days gone by. There have even been dedicated exhibitions of such
posters in art museums. I like these nostalgic images and will post a
few grouped per theme. Today's theme is trains - a subject more difficult that you'd think, because they were mainly made to promote trips by rail to beautiful destinations, which ended up on the poster rather than the trains themselves. With the help of the Art and Artists blog I managed to get twelve. The image above is created via Photofunia and is free from copyright issues.
Shasta Route / Southern Pacific (1927)
Mount Shasta is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. Maurice Logan designed this poster for the Southern Pacific Company.
Golden Mountain Pullman Express (ca 1930)
Advertising the scenic connection between Montreux and Interlaken, in Switzerland. The poster was designed by Roger Broders.
Trans- Australian Railway (ca 1930)
For some reason, Australia is not a country I associate with travel by train, but here you go. The poster is by James Northfield.
Austria by Train (ca 1930)
There is something weird about this train, but it cannot be a bus (my first thought) because this is obviously not a road bridge. No information on date or designer.
New York Central System (ca 1930)
The New York Central System, nowadays better known as New York Central
Railroad, was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid
Atlantic regions of the United States. This poster by Leslie Ragan is
stunning in its blue design and industrial theme - it's probably from
the thirties.
The New 20th Century Limited (1938)
This poster is all about the speed of travel rather than the destination - reaching Chicago from New York in 16 hours. It was designed by Leslie Ragan.
Canadian Pacific (ca 1940)
Combining the stunning landscape with a stunning looking train. Awesome poster by R. Couillard.
Pennsylvania Railroad (ca 1940)
No information on date or designer - but a good looking poster for sure.
Canadian Pacific (1942)
A beautiful poster designed by Peter Maxwell Ewart - just love the contrast between the lady in red and the black locomotive.
New York Central System (1946)
Another Leslie Ragan poster for New York Central System, showing the various models.
Canadian Pacific (1952)
Unlike most posters in today's post, this one is without any text - the relevant information is painted on the nose of the train riding through the Canadian Rockies. Another poster by Peter Maxwell Ewart.
Canadian Pacific (ca 1955)
What a trip that would be - across Canada by train.... Another wonderful poster by Peter Maxwell Ewart.
Copyright statement: posting lower quality vintage advertisement posters is deemed fair use.
