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The Golden Age and beyond
Dec. 19th, 2017 09:30 pmBook Review: Poster to Poster - Railway Journeys in Art - Vol 2 Yorkshire and the North East, by Richard Furness
The book sale at work spoils me as to the price and value of books; but we also have a bonus scheme, and though it doesn't compare to that of a banker, it allows me to indulge in things I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise, such as this book. I can't really remember when I developed a liking for vintage travel posters; but most probably during the mid to late 1980s when the BBC adaptation of Miss Marple with Joan Hickson, and Granada's Poirot were in full flow. I find it interesting how many travel posters today, both for national rail services and TfL on the tube, clearly take inspiration from the "Golden Age".
Of course, I chose this volume in particular because it's the area where I grew up. The balance of posters isn't necessarily what I would have chosen, with only one chapter being devoted to Northumberland, but it is probably a more objective choice. Most of the posters are from the LNER period mid-1920s through to 1948, and the first 10-15 years of BR, although Furness highlights the GNR, and NER in particular, as also producing attractive poster art in the period before that of the "big four" operators, and includes more experimental examples and modern posters too. The text is a bit idiosyncratic in places, being a mix of commentary about the posters, the places, the artists, and the author's personal opinions, variously as art critic, art dealer, and contemporary social commentator, and could perhaps have benefitted from more stringent editing, but really, this book is about the pictures, so here are some highlights from the book that also appear on Teh Interweb.
The book sale at work spoils me as to the price and value of books; but we also have a bonus scheme, and though it doesn't compare to that of a banker, it allows me to indulge in things I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise, such as this book. I can't really remember when I developed a liking for vintage travel posters; but most probably during the mid to late 1980s when the BBC adaptation of Miss Marple with Joan Hickson, and Granada's Poirot were in full flow. I find it interesting how many travel posters today, both for national rail services and TfL on the tube, clearly take inspiration from the "Golden Age".
Of course, I chose this volume in particular because it's the area where I grew up. The balance of posters isn't necessarily what I would have chosen, with only one chapter being devoted to Northumberland, but it is probably a more objective choice. Most of the posters are from the LNER period mid-1920s through to 1948, and the first 10-15 years of BR, although Furness highlights the GNR, and NER in particular, as also producing attractive poster art in the period before that of the "big four" operators, and includes more experimental examples and modern posters too. The text is a bit idiosyncratic in places, being a mix of commentary about the posters, the places, the artists, and the author's personal opinions, variously as art critic, art dealer, and contemporary social commentator, and could perhaps have benefitted from more stringent editing, but really, this book is about the pictures, so here are some highlights from the book that also appear on Teh Interweb.
Bamburgh Castle and the Northumberland Coast, by Jack Merriott
St Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay, by F Donald Blake
- Fnarr fnarr! Who knew?
Durham Cathedral, by Fred Taylor
Teesdaye, by Ernest William Haslehurst
Scarborough, by Arthur C Michael
Scarborough, by W Smithson Broadhead
Low Petergate, York, by Claude Buckle