Poster

Leisure travel into the area now known as Greater London (and beyond) was promoted to increase revenue during off-peak periods. For similar commercial reasons, commuters were encouraged to live further out from the city in the new suburbs. Posters advertising days out by tube, bus or tram, were prominently displayed at station entrances and on the vehicles themselves. They include some of the most attractive and evocative posters produced by the Underground/London Transport.
Show all records with Beyond the city theme

Interwar London witnessed an unprecedented housing boom, fuelled in part by the expansion of the tube system. Following the earlier success of the Golders Green extension, new suburbs were vigorously promoted by the Underground. An even more ambitious policy of suburban development, known as Metro-land, was pursued by the Metropolitan Railway in north west London. Both companies used posters to sell the ideal of a better life in semi-rural surroundings, connected to the city by fast and reliable electric trains.
Show all records with Suburbs theme

By 1914 the Underground Group ran most of the Tube lines, three tram systems and the main London bus company, the LGOC. The posters publicise all these transport modes. Outside the Underground Group were the Metropolitan Railway and London County Council (LCC) Tramways, which ran separate poster campaigns. All these companies were merged into London Transport (LT) in 1933. The four main line railway companies also used posters to promote their London suburban services. Transport for London (TfL) replaced LT in 2000 with wider responsibility including taxis, streets, river services and some overground rail.
Show all records with London's transport system theme

Most London Transport posters illustrate the destination rather than the journey, for obvious reasons. Featuring the mode of transport, whether bus, train or tram, offers less imaginative scope to the artist and has less appeal to the majority of customers other than enthusiasts. With a few exceptions, the posters where road vehicles or railway rolling stock dominate tend to be more literal and lack artistic creativity. The best often make good use of humour and photographic images manipulated into surreal juxtaposition.
Show all records with Vehicles theme