Jump to content
 

London Underground poster question


Jim Martin
 Share

Recommended Posts

For my birthday, my daughter bought me a copy of "Vile Bodies" by Evelyn Waugh. For those who don't know, this is a classic of the 1920s (it was actually published in 1930) set among the so-called "bright young things" - the feckless offspring of the well-off.

 

The cover of the current paperback edition is based on a poster by Fred Taylor and is credited on the back as being from the London Transport Museum. It's on their website at https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/collections-online/posters/item/1983-4-1382.

 

What's bugging me is that even the museum's own image doesn't carry any indication of what the poster is supposed to be advertising. The panel where I'd have expected the"London Underground" to be is blank and the only text is "by tram from Hammersmith, Wimbledon or Shepherds Bush". These locations bestride the Thames near Putney, which makes me think it might have been the Boat Race; but the general ambience looks a bit more laid back than that: perhaps just "boating on the river"?

 

Does anyone know what this poster was used for? Thanks

 

Jim

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

If you scroll down the page that you link to - under the sub-theme 'Rowing' the Oxford and Cambridge boat race is mentioned. In the inter-war years that would have been a much more exuberant social event than the current races attract. Probably more in common with the Henley Regatta than the modern varsity boat race. The poster artists always made the most of aspirational social events or locations. Just look at some of the LNER posters for Scarborough or LMS ones for Southport or Southern's for Bexhill and Hastings.

Edited by phil_sutters
Link to post
Share on other sites

I didn't scroll that far down (I'm on my phone at the moment, and the museum website needs a ton of scrolling just to get to the image that's "the content"), but I think you might have led us to the answer, although I don't think it's the Boat Race.

 

If you click on the link to "other objects with this sub-theme" for "rowing", you get a load of posters for the Boat Race; but they suggest different stations. It seems to vary from year to year, but they're not the same ones as on the Taylor poster. In 1921 (the Taylor poster is from 1922) it was Hammersmith, Chiswick Park and Putney Bridge. In 1923 and 1924 it was the same three, and in 1933 it was the same again plus Ravenscourt Park and Turnham Green.

 

The same gallery, though, includes posters for something called "the Molesey Regatta" from 1925 and 1928; and both of them use exactly the same "By tram from Hammersmith, Shepherds Bush or Wimbledon" wording (interestingly, not the same order as the Taylor poster). Also, both of them depict something more leisurely than a race. The 1925 poster, in particular, shows a lot of punting, which matches with the Taylor poster (see the chap just beneath the balloons who seems to be standing up with a pole): https://www.ltmuseumshop.co.uk/posters/collections/molesey-regatta-small-10394

 

Jim

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...