History - Iconic railways poster arrives in Edinburgh
Photo by Kenny Lam / VisitScotland Flying Scotsman crossing the Forth Bridge
Iconic railways poster arrives in Edinburgh
N
ational Museums Scotland has acquired the original artwork for LNER’s 1932 advertising campaign ‘Take me by the Flying Scotsman’ by A R Thomson. It was created for a railway poster titled LNER ‘Take me by the Flying Scotsman Leaves Kings Cross at 10am weekdays. With apologies to the Southern Railway.’ The painting shows the enormous, gleaming wheels and engine of the Flying Scotsman with a child standing on the adjacent platform looking up in awe at the driver. It was intended as a pastiche of
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a Southern Railway poster “I’m Taking an Early Holiday cos I know Summer Comes Soonest in the South” which showed a child talking to an engine driver. LNER wanted to project a very different image, one of speed and modernity, and Thomson was mocking Southern Railway’s homely style.
The age of railway art as a serious field of commercial design took off in the 1920s and reached its pinnacle in the 1930s. Before the First World War railway posters were text-heavy, cramming in as much information about a service and its destination as possible.
In 1923 the government grouped into four regions those rail companies which had survived the First World War. Although divided geographically they were still in competition with one another due to overlapping territories and routes. Railway poster art, as we recognise it today, was born along with the creation of these new companies. Each was keen to promote their own distinct style and region, and LNER took the progressive step of appointing an advertising manager and introducing a poster campaign. Soon the company had a reputation for producing exciting and innovative work,
