Designer: | Gawthorn, Henry George (1879-1941) |
Country: | UK |
Decade: | 1920 |
Year: | 1922 |
Dimensions: | 102 x 63,5 cm |
Condition: | Very good | | B + |
Publisher: | Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Ltd. |
Printed by: | Philip Reid, 47 Fleet Street, London |
Category: |
Ocean Liner |
This is a very rare Union Line poster promoting the All-Red Route to Australia and New Zealand. The journey was, originally, a steamship route used by Royal Mail Ships during the heyday of the British Empire. The name derives from the common practice of colouring the territory of the British Empire red or pink on political maps.
The major "All-Red Route" ran as follows: Southern Britain -> Gibraltar -> Malta -> Alexandria -> Port Said (after construction of the Canal) -> Suez -> Aden -> Muscat (and access to the Persian Gulf) -> India -> Sri Lanka -> Burma -> Malaya -> Singapore (branching out into the Pacific Ocean towards Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and other British colonies).
The artist Henry George Gawthorn was born in Northampton in 1879 and he went on from here to become one of Britain’s most stylish railway poster artists. Mr Gawthorn sometimes appears in his own posters but this is not the case in this poster. This is a very rare New Zealand poster.
The poster has some minor wear, but would look great framed. Fresh colors.