Description

The maps and the cartoons were the work of artist and illustrator Helen Madeleine McKie (1889–1957). After leaving Lambeth School of Art, Helen McKie became a member of staff with ‘Bystander’ magazine from 1915-1929. She was also a contributing artist to ‘The Graphic’, ‘Sphere’, ‘Autocar’, and ‘Queen’ – all “up-market” publications with a pronounced Metroplitan bias. She illustrated books, created mural designs, and painted the artwork for posters. Her most famous works are the pair posters “Waterloo Station – War” and “Waterloo Station – Peace” which were published by Southern Railway in 1948 as part of the Waterloo Station centenary celebrations. (Reproductions of these splendid posters can be seen in :

http://www.britishtransporttreasures.com/product/waterloo-station-centenary-by-h-g-davis-british-railways-southern-region-1948/

and in:-

http://www.britishtransporttreasures.com/product/war-on-the-line-by-bernard-darwin-southern-railway-company-london-1946-ebook/

An interesting feature of the booklet is the amount of space devoted to promoting “Package Holidays” abroad. These I had always associated with rise in the number of cheap flights becoming available in the 1960s . The GSN packages begin by boarding a steamer at Tower Pier then crossing to Ostend to join a “luxury motor coach” for a eight to fourteen day guided tour ranging from Belgium to Switzerland or the Black Forest priced from £5-3-0d to £14-17-6d all inclusive. These early packages did not cater for these wishing to fry on a beach but they were indicative of more employers giving paid holidays and of a growing class of Britishers willing to go “Abroad” as long as it did not involve exposure to much “foreignness!”

PREVIEW BELOW – MAY TAKE A WHILE TO LOAD.