£4.50 – £18.00
This vintage railway poster proclaims Take Your Dog With You By Rail. And why wouldn’t you? There’s always room on the train for one more passenger – especially if it’s an adorable soot-coloured Scottie dog.
The delightful Take Your Dog With You By Rail poster was produced by the ‘Big Four’ GWR/LMS/LNER/SR railway companies in 1935. At the time the Big Four consisted of the Great Western Railway, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, the London and North Eastern Railway and the Southern Railway. These four ‘new’ large railway companies had been made up of dozens of smaller ones in a move to streamline the railway in a reorganising that is commonly known as ‘The Grouping’.
The poster was created by the artist Mabel Gear who was born in Suffolk, England in 1898. Gear had studied at the Colchester School of Art and by the early 1900s, she had gained a good reputation for her paintings of birds and animals. She particularly enjoyed painting dogs and regularly produced the illustrations for Black and White Scottish Whiskey advertisements that featured playful images of two Scottish Terriers, one black and one white. Her paintings also made their way onto postcards, greetings cards as well as in books.
In her Take Your Dog With You railway poster, Mabel Gear’s depicts a charming scene. She has featured her loyal, Scottie dog, Murdoch who is seen sitting, guarding his owner’s bag (with the artists initials on) and golf clubs. The dog is sitting waiting patiently but there’s no way Mabels going anywhere without him!
Scottie dogs have always been one of the most popular breeds amongst dog lovers in Britain and across the world. In 1936, the Scottie dog was the third most popular dog breed in America. The Scottie has been the dog of choice for many famous people. Actors that have been proud Scottie owners include Cary Grant and his dog Archie, Humphrey Bogart with Mac. Famous actresses include Ali McGraw, Jayne Mansfield, Katherine Hepburn, Whoopi Goldberg, Shirley Temple, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Not to be left out are US presidents and First Lady’s including Franklin Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy, George W Bush and Donald Trump. Members of royalty that have owned Scottish Terriers include Queen Victoria and Toria, Princess of Wales. And even, the writer Rudyard Kipling and Astronaut Neil Armstrong.
In addition to Mabel Gear’s wonderful Take Your Dog With You By Rail Poster, several other vintage posters promoting the railway’s dog-friendly attitude have been produced. We have several of them to buy on this website such as Fred Gardner’s 1923 poster Lucky Dogs! for the GWR. We also have a fantastic poster by Christopher Sambler that was created in 1923 and features a Fox Terrier. We also have a reproduction of a John Bee poster exclaiming ‘Don’t forget my ticket‘ featuring an image of a Spaniel dog.
As can be seen in the vintage Take Your Dog With You By Rail poster on this page, in the 1920s and 1930s railway companies actively encouraged passengers to bring their dogs with them. Hiking and walking were extremely popular pastimes. Allowing dogs onto trains encouraged their owners to escape the cities and towns and travel further afield for walks in the countryside.
This fantastic Take Your Dog With You By Rail Poster from 1937 states that Return Tickets at Single Rates are available. It doesn’t actually mention how much a single rate ticket would cost, it would be interesting to know! The poster also explains that drinking water for dogs can be obtained from station refreshment rooms, or upon request to a member of the station staff.
Today passengers are allowed take two dogs on board a train and for free! However, taking more than two may incur an additional charge. Dog’s must be kept on a lead or in a pet carrier and they are not allowed on seats. Dogs aren’t the only animals that can travel with you on trains. You are able to take up to two small domestic animals on board as lond as they are kept in a pet carrier at all times. So, you’ve got no excuse. Next time you’re going on a train journey, Take Your Dog With You.
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 a 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 £12. So you can bag a bargain of print and frame for a great price.
These digitally enhanced posters are professionally printed with fade-resistant inks onto a thick 300gsm silk poster card.
A4 posters are printed on to 300gsm silk artboard
A3, A2 and 50x70cm posters are printed on to 230gsm poster paper
All posters are despatched by 2nd class Royal Mail. Posters are posted in either a hard-backed envelope clearly marked ‘Do Not Bend’ or a sturdy postal tube.
This listing is for prints only, frames shown in any photos are not included in the sale.
| Size | A4, A3, A2, 50x70cm, A1 |
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Yorkshire Coast – Blue
