Holiday Handbook
Halfsheet This is a 1939 vintage railway advertising poster for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), promoting its annual travel guide, The Holiday Handbook.
Key Poster Details
• Publisher. The poster was issued by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), one of Britain's "Big Four" railway companies operating between 1923 and 1947.
• Purpose. It advertises the 1939 edition of the LNER Holiday Handbook. This thick directory listed seaside resorts, hotels, boarding houses, and train fares along the East Coast of England and Scotland to help British families plan their summer vacations.
• Pricing & Distribution. The book was sold for 6d (sixpence in pre-decimal British currency) at booksellers, railway bookstalls, and LNER agencies.
• Artwork & Design. The poster uses a three-dimensional trompe-l'œil effect to depict the thick guidebook itself standing upright. The cover illustration, signed by the commercial artist Michael, captures the optimistic pre-war seaside aesthetic with a smiling woman in a floral swimsuit and large woven sun hat sitting on a coastal rock surrounded by seagulls.
• Historical Context. Published just months before the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, this was the final peacetime Holiday Handbook produced by the LNER before wartime restrictions halted leisure travel advertising. Copies of the handbook and its promotional materials are preserved in collections such as the Science Museum Group.
Key Poster Details
• Publisher. The poster was issued by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), one of Britain's "Big Four" railway companies operating between 1923 and 1947.
• Purpose. It advertises the 1939 edition of the LNER Holiday Handbook. This thick directory listed seaside resorts, hotels, boarding houses, and train fares along the East Coast of England and Scotland to help British families plan their summer vacations.
• Pricing & Distribution. The book was sold for 6d (sixpence in pre-decimal British currency) at booksellers, railway bookstalls, and LNER agencies.
• Artwork & Design. The poster uses a three-dimensional trompe-l'œil effect to depict the thick guidebook itself standing upright. The cover illustration, signed by the commercial artist Michael, captures the optimistic pre-war seaside aesthetic with a smiling woman in a floral swimsuit and large woven sun hat sitting on a coastal rock surrounded by seagulls.
• Historical Context. Published just months before the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, this was the final peacetime Holiday Handbook produced by the LNER before wartime restrictions halted leisure travel advertising. Copies of the handbook and its promotional materials are preserved in collections such as the Science Museum Group.
Before
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