Fascinating collection of vintage travel posters used to promote Britain’s top holiday destinations in the golden age set to fetch £40,000
Unique artworks were displayed in train stations across the county in the early 1900s
A COLLECTION of vintage posters to promote British beauty spots in the 1900s worth almost £40,000 are up for auction next week.
The 13 artworks were originally re-printed in bulk and displayed on trains and rail stations in a bid to entice holidaymakers and tourists to destinations across the country.
The paintings, by prominent artists of the time, are seen as the 'halycon days' or rail travel and were commissioned by rail companies in the 1950s.
The rare originals are now expected to make thousands at the auction on 13 December in Newbury, as similar artworks were mostly lost or destroyed over time.
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The most valuable is 'Venetian Nights, Southport' - worth a whopping £7,000. Painted by Italian artist Fortunino Matania in 1937, it shows the Merseyside town as you've never seen it before.
Glamourous men and woman wear extravagant outfits as they cruise along a river in the Merseyside town in what appears to be a Venetian gondola.
Another painting in the collection is 'Bournemouth' by impressionist Algernon Talmage from 1925. Estimated to be worth £7,000, it shows the popular seaside town with clear blue skies and was designed to appeal to city workers.
Ten of the 13 posters up for auction come from the one family, who came into possession of the pieces through their uncle, who worked for London, Midland and Scottish Railway in the 1960s.
The company was clearing out and planned to throw them away - but the worker offered to take them and they have been preserved and treasured by the family ever since.
Also part of the family's collection is a series of works produced by Norman Wilkinson to promote the Scottish highlands and islands.
These include Iona Cathedral, on the Isle of Iona, which is expected to sell for £6,000.
One of the most interesting posters is 'Bathing Beauty' (top) showing a woman wearing a bathing suit in Morecambe.
Anthony Brandt's painting of a cat dipping its paw into the sea near Castle Douglas on the Isle of Man is also expected to be popular.
Jennie Fisher, head of modern and contemporary art at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions, which is selling the paintings, said: "This wonderful collection comprises paintings from the 1920s up to the 1950s, a period which has become known as the golden age of the railway poster.
"It includes some of the most well known poster artists of the day, many of whom were successful and recognised artists aside from their graphic work.
"The collection provides a remarkable insight not only into the evolution of the railway poster during this period but also a window onto the social history of the times.
"Railway companies were keen to develop strong, independent corporate images and were also fiercely competitive.
"The posters they produced heralded a new era in railway poster design as each company sought to draw holiday-makers to the destinations they served.
"Many have been lost or destroyed in the decades since but luckily these have been preserved, a majority of them by the same family."
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