vintage airline posters

Mid-century graphic design gave us such treasures as Saul Bass, the WPA, and science ads like we haven’t seen since. From the Boston Public Library’s Print Collection comes this stunning collection of vintage travel posters from the Golden Age of Travel, when railways stretched across America and Europe, swanky ocean liners brought elegance to international waters, and the roads swelled with automobiles. Armed with these vibrant visual ephemera, travel agents and ticket salesmen ushered in a new era of excitement about the adventures of travel, channeled through the language of design.

The metabolism of travel changed more in the last century than in the previous half-millennium, a stunning transformation triggered by American wanderlust. In less than 100 years, the U.S. mass-produced the automobile, invented airplanes, freeways, motels, even sent men to the Moon. Travel grew ever faster and easier. Above all, it was democratized — enabling millions to explore distant lands, or see their own more fully.

Years Of Globe Trotting Ads book

‘100 Years Of Globe-Trotting Ads’ book on Amazon ($70)

airline visual identity book

Amazing Airline Visual Identity book on Amazon ($270)

airline visual identity book

The Airline Visual Identity 1945-1975 book on Amazon ($47)

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