Sale 2459 - Rare & Important Travel Posters, October 26, 2017

TERENCE CUNEO (1907-1996) 191 c CLEAR ROAD AHEAD / BRITISH RAILWAY. 1949. 40x50 inches, 101 1 / 2 x127 cm. Waterlow & Sons Ltd., London. Condition B+: speckling in margins and text; restored losses, repaired tears, creases and overpainting in margins and image. Born into a family of artists, Cuneo was a painter and illustrator who excelled at railroad images, locomotives and military themes. He served as the official artist for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953. Many of his paintings were turned into posters for the British Railway, each of which is distinguished by the great attention he pays to the technical details. [2,000/3,000] TERENCE CUNEO (1907-1996) 192 c FORGING AHEAD / BRITISH RAILWAYS. Circa 1955. 40x50 inches, 101 1 / 2 x127 cm. Waterlow & Sons Limited, London. Condition A- / A: minor repaired tears at edges. Rolled out in 1951, the British Rail Standard Class 7s, known as the Britannia class, were mixed traffic locomotives; 55 were produced between 1951 and 1954. Number 70000, pictured here, was actually called Britannia and she was, indeed, the “first standard express locomotive” built for the newly nationalized British Railways company. Depicted passing an older steam engine (what appears to be an old Great Western Railway Star Class locomotive), the visual message is clear: British Railways is forging ahead with their technology and their rolling stock. Le Train p. 66-7. [3,000/4,000] TERENCE CUNEO (1907-1996) 193 c SCOTLAND FOR YOUR HOLIDAYS / BRITISH RAILWAYS. 1952. 39 3 / 4 x49 1 / 4 inches, 101x125 cm. Waterlow, Great Britain. Condition B / B+: extensive expert overpainting, restoration and restored losses in margins. The streamlined locomotive pictured chugging over Scotland’s Forth Bridge is a Class A4 engine designed for the London and North Eastern Railway by Nigel Gresley, in 1935. Specifically, it is number 60031, The Golden Plover , which was in service from1937 to 1965. 35 were built in all, designed to pull the “Silver Jubilee” train. The series was among the fastest and most recognizable trains in Britain. Cuneo artfully captures the complexity of the bridge construction as well as the sleek lines of the engine. [4,000/6,000] 191