Travel by Train: The American Railroad Poster, 1870-1950 (Hardcover)

by Michael E. Zega (Author), John E. Gruber (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
From the proliferation of competitive railroad lines across the continent in the second half of the 19th century to the decline in passengers after World War II, this book conveys the excitement involved in train travel by reproducing 120 poster images, photographs, and sketches from the time before most people were driving or flying to their destinations. The coauthors know their subject well: Gruber is president of the Center for Railroad Photography and Art, editor of its magazine, contributing editor of Classic Trains, and recent editor of Vintage Rails; Zega is a regular contributor to the two latter magazines, among others. Their extensive research proves fascinating, and the colorful posters still maintain their visual appeal. Five chronologically arranged chapters interweave information about the artists and how the characteristics of their commissioned designs serve the advertising purposes of the railroad lines they worked for. A large number of artists, both well known (N.C. Wyeth, John Held Jr.) and not so well known (Maurice Logan, Leslie Ragan), are included in the discussion, with reproductions of their designs. Recommended to both academic and public libraries for their transportation history, graphic design, or advertising history sections.
Anne Marie Lane, Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

An illustrated history of the American railroad poster from 1870 to 1950, the era of the rails' ascendancy.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 122 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (September 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253341523
• ISBN-13: 978-0253341525
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 11 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #670,406 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stuck-up trains., June 21, 2004

By	Robin Benson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The American railroads sold their services using posters but had a problem deciding what should be shown. European train posters mostly favored showing the end destination rather than the American graphic idea of showing the train. The first few posters shown in this beautiful book are a mixture of route maps, flamboyant lettering and illustrations of trains, sometimes all on the same poster, too.

Santa Fe, to my mind, really kicked off the great railroad poster by using the talented Louis Treviso and Oscar Bryn. They both produced knockout, straightforward graphic solutions, with bold colors and strong typography, clearly influenced by the leading European poster artists, Ludwig Hohlwein, Lucian Bernhard and the Beggarstaff Brothers. Into the twenties Santa Fe used Sam Hyde Harris to continue the trend in strong graphics. Southern Pacific used Maurice Logan to design equally powerful posters, page sixty-two has a stunning Logan graphic of two trains selling the Great Salt Lake.

Other artists and designers who get a good showing are Hernando Villa, who developed the memorable Indian's head for Santa Fe, Leslie Ragan for the New York Central (he has the most illustrations in the book) Sascha Maurer for the Pennsylvania Railroad and many artists who have one or two works shown. The authors combine all these creative folk and the way their output was used by the rail and ad industries up to the Fifties.

I thought the book was very well produced, though the caption typography is rather fussy, using the rather old fashioned Fig.33 and then capital directions in brackets (FACING PAGE TOP LEFT) in every case there is enough space to put the caption below each poster. The back of the book has a bibliography and index.

This is probably the best (and only) title about American railroad posters, some good work is shown in 'All Aboard' by Lynn Johnson (ISBN 0811817474) which also covers general railroad graphics. European travel posters have had plenty of coverage and I can recommend a really super book of British work, 'Railway Posters 1923-1947' by Beverly Cole and Richard Durack (ISBN 1856690148) with over two hundred illustrations in a well designed book.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover,

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another wonderful book, January 1, 2008

By	Fydly "bookworm" (Easton, CT USA) - See all my reviews

We came across posters that we had not seen elsewhere in this book. Great documentary for a bygone era and the prints are excellent.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Bygone Era, Remembered, July 7, 2009

By	Kenneth Smith "artistmac" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love trains, and I was born just a little too late to have enjoyed the last great decade of train travel (I was 15 when Amtrak was formed).

So it's great to live that era vicariously through books like this. The presentation of the posters is top-notch, as are the bios of the artists and the descriptions of the processes by which certain posters were created. Not a complete documentation, but a vital part of any railroad library.