London Underground Poster Diary 2012

Was lucky to receive a lovely email asking if I wanted to see a copy of a London Underground Poster Diary for 2012 focussing on Tube posters from the 1930's. As I'd already planned to go on London Transport Museum's Guided Tour of their Tube poster archive, this wasn't a question that needed much thought.


I'm very old school when it comes to diaries and use a fairly chunky Filofax, but I think this is the year when it will be finally be consigned to the drawer marked "you are no longer in the eighties, this is the 21st century".

Here's what the diaries publishers - Frances Lincoln had to say "London Underground is renowned for its poster archive and the Tube has become 'London's longest art gallery'. Historically these eye-catching posters enticed prospective travellers indirectly by focusing on the destination rather than the mode of travel and as the Underground expanded so did its potential destinations - from the inner city, through suburbia and beyond to the rolling countryside. The London Underground Diary 2012 focuses on posters from the 1930s - these are bolder, brighter and more adventurous than those of the 1920s and their imagery varies from traditional naturalistic scenes to more radical geometric and even abstract interpretations of a subject."

The diary is nicely themed so that the posters largely match the seasons in the months they relate to. This goes to show how London Underground posters themselves were produced to encourage travel around seasonal activities.

The diary also features some fun Tube facts and trivia - so you could set up an impromptu London Underground Pub Quiz if you liked.

Under the leadership of Frank Pick, the London Underground were well known for getting famous contemporary designers & artists to produce posters. The diary features work by Abram Games, Fred Taylor, Walter Spadbery, Austin Cooper, Laura Knight, Charles Pears (pictured below), Paul Nash and Man Ray. It also includes early work by up and coming artists such as Edward McKnight Kauffer and Graham Sutherland before they were famous.


If you love the 1930's, art-deco, Poirot, pre-second World War period or just the London Underground in general, this really is a great diary.  It normally retails at £12.99 but you can currently buy it on amazon for £7.66.

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