Rare vintage Fife coast and Forth Bridge rail posters to be auctioned

It is one of seven posters to go under the hammer at the online event on Thursday, October 27.

The event is hosted by fine art and design auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull, in partnership with poster specialists Tomkinson Churcher.

The rare lithographic posters from the heyday of travelling by train were produced to encourage people to take a train to tourist hotspots such as the Fife coast, Bute, Royal Deeside and the Trossachs.

The colourful images were commissioned from a range of artists between 1934 and 1950.

A striking Art Deco-style poster of the Forth Bridge, which forms the centrepiece of the sale of Scottish scenes, is expected to fetch between £6000 and £8000.

It was designed in 1928 by Henry George Gawthorn (1879-1941), who worked as a commercial artist for LNER and also as a fine artist.

Gawthorn regularly exhibited his paintings at the Royal Academy in London.

His bold depiction of the Forth Bridge marks an important milestone in bridge design and construction when railways came to dominate long-distance travel.

The poster promoting the Fife coast from c1950 is by Frank Henry Mason.

Sophie Churcher, from Tomkinson Churcher, specialist consultants to Lyon & Turnbull, said: “The posters being offered for auction evoke a warm nostalgia and represent a time when travelling by train was considered a real adventure.

"They are much sought-after as a result and we expect them to be popular with collectors eager to own a piece of transport history.

"With a starting price of £400 for some of them, it will be interesting to see what they fetch.”