LNER and LMS Railway Travel Posters as Art

In the early 1920s, three hundred railways within Great Britain joined together to form the four major arteries that would unite two countries into one kingdom. The travel posters supporting the combination offered a romantic and picturesque view of the opportunities now available to residents of Great Britain. While most posters are unsigned, one of the most notable and acclaimed creators is Norman Wilkinson, who in 1924, with the help of eighteen members of the Royal Academy, designed the first of three posters of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, as well as the London and North England Railway. The original three posters depict life on the rails, and the prospects that the "Big Four" railways could offer.

While being Scottish helps with my love of the travel posters, to me, they are some of the most exquisite pieces of British history, as they not only promote the use of the LMS/LNER within the country, they employ an art deco style indicative of the time period. The crispness of the life in motion creates such surrealism and emotion, I can't help but want to jump on a train and just ride the countryside.

The advances in materials and construction allowed the railways to finally be connected, allowing the experimentation with art through railway posters. However, the posters were more than simple travel posters. They served to help united a country divided; during the world wars, the posters served as both nationalistic promotions and reminders that there were sacrifices to be made. During the Second World War, while a majority of the resorts the trains serviced were closed due to threats of invasion, the railways were not. Instead they were enlisted into the war effort, transporting men and materials throughout the United Kingdom. The posters of that time reflected the sentiments of those who were left behind. In Food, shells and fuel must come first, the posters asked travelers to be mindful for the war efforts. Passengers were simply not the only items being transported anymore. While other posters, such as In War and Peace by Reginald Mayes, promoted nationalism and support for the troops battling the Germans.

Their bold colors and striking graphics were both eye catching and entertaining, speaking to the passengers as they passed by on the way to work or to play. I have several travel posters within my house; a small collection building, as the posters are reminiscent of both my ancestry and my love of art. Juxtaposed against the abstract artists I adore, such as Pablo Picasso or Wassily Kandinsky, the railway posters of the early 1900s offer a slice of life in high art. The structure of the posters is what I adore. The straight lines and angles speak to the diligence of the process that is took to unite the lands of the United Kingdom, while the bright colors are eye catching, and a testament to the brilliance of advertising during the 1920s. Though most would look at the posters and think little creativity went into the design, it is the simplicity of the works which create the interesting lines and emotions that linger within the richly decorated papers. Simplicity isn't always a sign of lack of creativity; clean images and straight lines are just as difficult to imagine and create as the abstract dribbling of Jackson Pollack or Kandinsky.

To me, the posters are the Saturday Evening Post images of Great Britain, showing life in Great Britain during times of joy and times of war. One of the posters I have in my house is one of Edinburgh, which shows the station downtown, with Edinburgh Castle in the background, orange with the evening sun, which occasionally occurs in the capital of Scotland. The castle seems on fire with the fading sunlight, an image I was able to see while on vacation in the United Kingdom. The railway posters have captured the essence of British life in an artistic means that not only serviced the travel industry, but served as a means of collecting the images of British history. They are moments of a time gone, but contained within the ink of posters still circulating on the internet for those of us who want to monumentalize the art deco style of travel within the United Kingdom. Much like the works of Norman Rockwell, the LMS Railway posters are national treasures.