Victorian and Edwardian travel posters

This poster advertises Great Western Railway excursions from London and other stations to Wales.

The main image is probably the river Wye, where the Wye Valley Railway ran between Chepstow and Monmouth. The line was operated by Great Western Railway and the railway viaduct can be seen in the distance.

The poster also includes an image of a woman in traditional Welsh costume, sitting at a spinning wheel, and a view of the historic house Plas Newydd in Llangollen.

The original Great Western Railway company was founded in 1833. Its routes included the London to Bristol line engineered by the iconic civil engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

The centre of the poster features the arms, crests and mottos of the City of London (Domine Dirige Nos - God guides us) and Bristol City Council (Virtute et Industria - virtue and work).

This 1903 poster by artist Agnes Joseph is promoting travel on the ‘Brighton Railway’ — more properly known as the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway.

The line ran from London’s Victoria and London Bridge stations to the Sussex Downs, a range of chalk hills in coastal Southeast England popular with Londoners looking to escape the city.

The poster features steeply rolling hills with a small cluster of buildings in the valley and the sea in the distance. The character in the foreground is carrying a three legged milking stool and is looking over her shoulder at an agricultural worker in the fields.

This 1907 poster shows the Midland Railway company advertising its routes between the far North of Scotland and the South of England. The expression ‘cock of the north’ on the ribbon in the mouth of the bird, originates from the nickname of the Duke of Gordon, in the Northeast of Scotland, and also to the regimental marching tune of the Gordon Highlanders.

Three railways merged to form the Midland Railway company in 1844. The company was based in Derby, and the poster shows its express passenger steam locomotive number 1025 which could reach speeds up to 85mph. The 1025 was designed by Richard Deeley who was the Chief Mechanical Engineer at the company.

This poster advertises the coastal resort of Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire, and the Great Northern Railway that could take you there.

The branch line to Mablethorpe opened in 1877 and was busy with passengers travelling from the midlands to the coast. Another branch line, further south, ran to Sutton, and in 1888 the two lines were connected, forming the Mablethorpe Loop railway.

By 1908 the line had been taken over by the Great Northern Railway. The company ran excursions from London and midland towns and Mablethorpe developed as a holiday destination.