Vintage Travel Posters

This collection brings together vintage travel posters devoted to destinations and modes of transport. Railways, ocean liners, airlines, seaside resorts, mountains and cities create a graphic panorama of tourism from the late nineteenth century through the twentieth century.

The Golden Age of the Travel Poster

Railway, maritime and airline companies used posters for many years to inspire people to travel. The image had to be understood at a glance: a recognisable landscape, a destination name and sometimes a route or journey duration.

The Library of Congress places the golden age of the travel poster between the 1920s and the 1960s, before photography took on a dominant role. The Artem Legrand collection also includes earlier examples linked to the rise of the railway and colour lithography.

Railways and the First Tourist Destinations

Railway networks transformed spa towns, beaches and mountain regions into accessible destinations. Bordeaux by the Chemins de fer d’Orléans clearly associates a place with a railway company. Lake Annecy, Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée places the landscape at the forefront.

References to PLM, Chemins de fer de l’Ouest and Paris-Orléans make it possible to classify the images by network. Trains, timetables, reduced fares and maritime connections tell the story of the birth of a modern culture of travel.

Normandy, Brittany and Sea Crossings

Granville, Cherbourg, Carteret, Barfleur, Saint-Malo, Jersey and Mont-Saint-Michel occupy an important place in the selection. Granville, Excursions to Jersey and Mont-Saint-Michel connects railway, port and excursion.

Seaside posters favour cliffs, beaches and sweeping views. They may form a regional series with a palette of blue, beige and red, or be paired with ocean-liner posters to emphasise the crossing.

The French Riviera, the Alps and Spa Resorts

Nice, Antibes, Menton, Monaco, Saint-Raphaël and Corsica are represented through luminous views. Antibes – Côte d’Azur belongs to this promotion of the Mediterranean coastline.

The Alps, Mont Blanc, Chamonix, Annecy, Vittel and Vichy reveal another geography of travel: winter sports, mountain landscapes, spa tourism and scenic roads. The Alpine Route suits a selection focused on motoring and itineraries.

Ocean Liners and Great Crossings

Shipping companies promised comfort, speed and distant horizons. Canadian Pacific – Empress of Britain places the ocean liner at the centre of the composition. The ports of Cherbourg, Marseille and Le Havre became gateways to other continents.

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, Marseille–Algiers documents a Mediterranean route. Ship silhouettes and company typography create particularly cohesive decorative groupings.

Aviation and New Horizons

Aviation renewed the visual language of travel. Aircraft, simplified maps and diagonal lines suggest speed. Air France Paris–London in 1 h 30 makes journey duration a central selling point.

City of New York Municipal Airports represents the metropolitan scale, while Yosemite by United Airlines connects air transport with the natural landscape.

How can you recognise a travel poster?

A travel poster generally highlights a destination, a mode of transport or an activity available at the destination. The place name should remain legible, even when the image occupies most of the surface. Commercial posters without a destination or itinerary have been excluded from this collection.

The printed information is as important as the illustration: the company, route, station, port, fare or slogan places the document in the history of tourism and advertising.

Choosing a poster for decoration

A vertical composition suits the silhouettes of ocean liners, mountains and figures. Maps, panoramas and coastal landscapes often work well in horizontal formats. For a gallery wall, group posters by network, region, mode of transport or colour palette.

For the poster option, printing is offered on 140 g paper with HD rendering at 150 DPI. Dimensions, canvas and framing options vary according to the image, format and delivery destination; the product page displays the variants actually available.

Explore related collections

Continue with Normandy posters, Brittany posters, Paris posters or vintage advertising posters.

Frequently asked questions

Which destinations are represented?

The collection mainly covers France and Europe, as well as maritime routes, New York, Yosemite and other international destinations.

Are these images exclusively railway-related?

No. It includes posters for railways, ocean liners, aviation, scenic routes and seaside or spa resorts.

How can I find out which formats are available?

Open the poster’s product page, then select the medium and dimensions. The price and options appear according to the variants actually offered.