4 Beautiful British Seaside Posters

The Seaside has long been a favourite destination for British people. Scarborough Spa claims to be the countries first Seaside resort. In 1660, a book by Dr Wittie praising the towns spa waters led to it becoming a favourite destination for the Aristocracy.

In the Victorian era, Seaside destinations grew in popularity. Coastal Towns sprung up to cater for the rapidly-expanding working-class. Blackpool, Southend and Skegness became the centre of a travel boom. The newly constructed railways shuttled City dwellers to the coast for fun and seaside air.

In a bid to increase customer numbers, rail companies would commission posters to entice the public to these seaside destinations. Many of the famous ‘Seaside Posters’ are advertisements for train companies and not the towns featured. The ‘Skegness Is So Bracing‘ poster is a classic example. The complete wording on the original poster reads… ‘Skegness Is So Bracing – It’s Quicker By Rail’. The poster was originally designed for The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER).

The Skegness poster has to be one of the most famous railway posters ever produced. Artist John Hassall created this popular image as an oil painting in 1908. The original artwork for this poster can be seen in the National Railway Museum. The original posters used in Stations have become incredibly valuable recently. Many sell for £20,000 or more, thankfully, our reproductions cost significantly less.

Today, these posters are extremely popular as works of art. The colours, designs and style hark back to a time when life seemed similar. We’ve included four of our favourite Seaside posters above. If you’re interested in seeing more posters like this – click here.