Swiss Alpine Postal Motor Coaches poster – Switzerland Poster – Libiszewski – 1930
As you would expect the distinctive yellow used on the livery of the Swiss Alpine Postal Motor Coaches (PPT) features prominently on this vintage Swiss Alpine Postal Motor Coaches poster – Switzerland Poster – Libiszewski – 1930. The colour representing a road weaving its way through the Swiss Alps looks like it was inspired by the yellow brick road Dorothy, the tin man, the cowardly lion and the scarecrow followed in the Wizard of Oz film. The bright yellow road perfectly symbolises the zig-zagging through the mountains the distinctive yellow PostBuses perform on a daily basis. to carry locals, tourists and the post to the many towns and villages scattered across the Alps.
The Alpenposten Poster featured on this listing was created by the renowned Swiss poster artist Herbert Berthold Libiszewski who signed his artwork ‘Libis’. The text on the poster reads ‘Alpenpost – opens up new travel destination’. The famous Saurer built char-a-banc style buses were already used extensively by locals so it made sense that the marketing posters produced by the bus company were used to target the ever-growing tourist market.
Other Swiss Postal Service posters
In the 1920s and ’30s, The Swiss Postal Service, PTT, marketed the routes heavily and over the years many posters were created as part of that marketing. Several artists who have become well-known in the poster collecting world have taken a turn in producing a Die Alpenpost poster. One example is the 1923 Schweizerische Alpenposten poster by Emil Cardinaux. Two more are the fabulous 1935 Suisses services d’autocars des Alpes poster by Hans Beat Wieland. and Victor Surbek’s Suisse Alps Auto Poster print.
Before the advent of cars and trucks, mail coaches were an important part of Swiss life. These horse-drawn vehicles carried letters, packages and people between towns and cities. However, with the development of faster and more reliable modes of transportation, mail coaches began to fall out of use. In their place, post-buses emerged as a vital link between isolated communities in the mountains. These rugged vehicles could navigate narrow roads and treacherous mountain passes, making them ideal for delivering mail in remote areas.
In Switzerland, the PostBus has been as much a part of daily life as the post office itself. In reality, the ‘yellow road’ featured in this fantastic piece of vintage Swiss art, represents much more than a bus or postal service. Swiss Alpine Postal Motor Coaches were, and still are, an integral part of Switzerland’s transport system and an important, even essential lifeline to those people that live in the smaller Swiss mountain villages.
Incredibly, there isn’t an inhabited place in Switzerland that cannot be reached by some sort of public transport. In fact, in Switzerland, there is a federal law that stipulates that every village with a population greater than 40 is entitled to regular bus services. The frequency of these services is in direct proportion to the population density. Today, PostBus Switzerland is responsible for 2,193 buses across 869 bus routes. They transport over 140 million passengers annually on its 11,869 km (7,375 mi) road network.
Even today, post buses continue to play an important role in alpine travel, making them a vital part of life in the mountains.
Herbert Libiszewski – the man behind the Die Alpenpost Poster
Herbert Libiszewski was a Swiss-born graphic designer and artist who worked as an advertising consultant, fashion illustrator, painter and graphic designer in St. Gallen in the 1920s. At the beginning of his career, he was trained as an embroidery designer in St. Gallen before spending a few semesters at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Geneva. In 1921 he moved to Paris, where he attended free academies and produced fashion illustrations for some of Paris’s prestige magazine’s including Vogue, Jardin des Modes, Votre Beauté and Marie Claire. In 1941, ‘Libis’ he returned to Switzerland and devoted himself to designing posters and painting.
Libiszewski became a relatively prolific poster artist producing works for commercial companies such as Schaffhauser-Wolle, Steinfel’s Soaps and Rivella. He also produced several sports and travel posters. Some of his most popular posters include his fantastic 1949 Valais ski poster, his strange 1950 bird in a suit poster for Lutteurs, and the 1957 Zurich Horse Racing poster
Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears, or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.
The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £15. So you can bag a bargain of print and frame for a great price.
