Brazil-Afrika Reise poster Hamburg-Sud 1935 – MV Monte Rosa – Anton
What’s that! A seven week cruise for 395 Reichmarks. How much is that in pounds? £169! Yeah!, count me in. You can’t even buy the real poster for that now!
Well, here we present our superb reproduction of an original vintage travel poster created by the German poster artist Ottomar Anton. The bold, dynamic art deco influenced poster design was not going to missed wherever it was displayed. The fairly simple but effective design is depicted on a rich, blood orange/red background. The top half of the entire poster is given over to a silhouette of the continents of South America, Africa and most of Europe. Superimposed over the map is the cruises route and the destination stops it will make during the seven week long trip.
The Brazil-Afrika Reise itinerary
The itinerary starts at Hamburg where the Monta Rosa sets sail for Ponta Delgada on São Miguel Island. Ponta Delgada is the capital of the Azores archipelago of Portugal. The ship then makes its way to Pernambuco in the northeast region of Brazil. The next stop is Brazil’s capital city Rio de Janeiro. Rio is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere known for its stunning scenery, its carnivals, Latin dances, and beaches including the Copacabana and Ipanema. It is also home to one of the world’s most iconic landmarks, the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer that stands on top of the Corcovado mountain.
São Francisco do Sul in Santa Catarina ends the outward journey before the ship heads back up the coast to the bustling city of Santos in São Paulo. From Santos, the ship sails 2000km up the coast to Bahia. From Bahia, the ship heads back to Africa calling at Dakar, the capital and largest city of Senegal. The final stop on the itinerary is made at Morocco’s largest city, Casablanca from where the ship heads back to Hamburg.
The artist created a great art deco styled illustration of the passenger liner and cruise ship, MV Monte Rosa. It is here, in the white surf trail of the ship, that Anton has signed his name. Below the image of the cruise liner written in a large, bold, hand-drawn, Gothic blackletter typeface is the name of the cruise. The text reads, Brazil-Afrika Reise. Below that the text contines, “7 Wöchige seereise mit MS Monte Rosa vom 29 Okt bis 16 Dez 1935. This is followed by the name of the company, Hamburg-Sud in a return to the Gothic lettering. A second sub-heading then reads, ‘Hamburg-Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts Gesellschaft von RM 395 on.
The essence of which translates into English as, “Brazil-Africa trip. A seven-week sea voyage on board MS Monte Rosa. From 29 Oct to 16 Dec 1935. Hamburg-Sud. Hamburg-South American Steamship Company. From 395 Reichmarks.
The Monte Rosa ocean liner
The cruise ship Monte Rosa was owned and operated by the German shipping line Hamburg-Sud and was launched in 1930. The ship’s role in the company was that of carrying German immigrants to South America. Between its launch in 1930 and the outbreak of World War II, she made more than 20 return trips to the South American continent.
With the breakout of World War II, the Monte Rosa was deployed as a German navy barracks ship at Stettin, then as a German Navy troopship for the invasion of Norway in April 1940. Later she was used as an accommodation and recreational ship assigned to the Tirpitz battleship. In November 1942, the darkest stage of the ship’s history took place, when she became one of several ships used for the deportation of Jewish people. The ship carried 46 people from Norway to Denmark where they were transferred to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Of the 46 people that made the journey all but two died in the camp.
In 1944, Monte Rosa served in the Baltic Sea, rescuing Germans trapped in Latvia, East Prussia, and Danzig by the advance of the Red Army. In May 1945, she was captured by advancing British forces at Kiel and taken as a prize of war. In 1946 she was assigned to the British Ministry of Transport and converted into a troopship. By this time, the Monte Rosa was the only survivor of the five Monte-class ships. At the end of the war, the ship was renamed HMT Empire Windrush. In service, she continued to be used mainly as a troop ship until March 1954.
In 1948, Empire Windrush, en route from Australia to England, docked in Kingston, Jamaica, to pick up servicemen who were on leave. The British Nationality Act 1948 had just been passed. This gave UK Citizenship status to all British subjects connected with the United Kingdom or a British colony. The scheme was named the Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies, abbreviated to CUKCs. Prior to 1962, the UK had no immigration control for the CUKCs People were offered full rights of entry and settlement to anybody that wanted to was able to settle indefinitely in the UK without restrictions. Initially, not many people took it up.
However, Britain was trying to rebuild its economy after the Second World War. There was a serious shortage of labour and industries such as the Post Office, the National Health Service, and British Rail were already recruiting heaving from the Caribbean. An advertisement was placed in a Jamaican newspaper offering transport to England for £28 (not an insignificant amount of money then being at least five weeks’ average wage) to anybody who wanted to come and work in the UK. Four hundred and ninety-two immigrants famously began a wave of migration from the Caribbean to the UK when the ship docked at the Port of Tilbury, near London, including many servicemen. The name Windrush has, as a result, come to be used as shorthand for that migration, and by extension for the beginning of modern British multicultural society.
In 1954, Windrush set off from Yokohama, Japan, on what was to be her final voyage. She called at Kure and was to sail to the United Kingdom. The voyage was plagued with engine breakdowns, defects, and an engine room explosion that killed four crew members. The burned-out shell of Empire Windrush was supposed to be towed to Gibraltar, but on the journey, the Empire Windrush sank in March 1954.
What is an original London-Reisen poster worth?
Ottomar Anton was born in Germany in 1895. He became a painter, designer, and poster artist and along with Jupp Wiertz was a pioneer of the clean, simplified, modernist graphic poster style that was popular during the 1930s. He is probably best known for his shipping and travel posters for the Cunard Line, the White Star Line, Hamburg-Sud, and the Hamburg-Amerika Line as well as his aviation posters for the Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei.
His works are now highly prized and sought after by collectors. Many of his vintage travel posters sell for several thousands of pounds. For example, his 1930s poster titled Graf Zeppelin to South America in 3 days! sold a few years ago, for the not inconsiderable sum of £5,750. At the time of listing (2021), an original copy of his 1935 Brazil-Africa Reise print was available through an online retailer for £4,200. Another poster designed by Anton for the 1936 London-Reisen cruise, kept the same look and feel as the 1935 version. Instead of the Horse Guard and Tower Bridge, the image was replaced with a Beefeater and the Tower of London. An original copy of that poster sold in 2021 for £1,750.
An original lithographic poster print of the 1935 version, listed on this page, advertising sailings to London by the Hamburg Sud Shipping Line, was also available through an online retailer at the time of listing. It was listed with an asking price of £3,500.
Our reproduction print is a great alternative
Rare vintage travel posters are hard to come by, and when you can find them they come with heavy price tags. There’s no argument from us, if you can find an original copy and can afford to buy it, you’re on to a winner. There’s nothing like owning an original vintage poster and they often make a great investment. Chances are in just a few years you’ll be able to sell it for more than you paid for it. Unfortunately, for most of us, an investment, even at the entry-level prices of the collectible poster isn’t even close to being a possibility.
This is why we’re proud to offer you our stunning high-quality reproductions. They cost a fraction of an original and look absolutely fantastic when they’re framed and hung on your living room wall. They capture the essence of the original poster, with their vibrant colors and iconic imagery. And best of all, their affordably priced, so you can add some to your collection without breaking the bank. Hang it in your home or office as a conversation starter, or give it as a gift to someone who loves to travel. Either way, you’re sure to get compliments on this beautiful piece of art.
If this poster floats your boat, cruise on over to the buy button and we’ll ship it straight out to the destination of your choice.
