In 1871, the British Government declared the Bank Holidays act, throughout the year there were official holidays allowing people time away from their jobs. While the wealthier families often stayed for a week in the summer, the great improvements made to the railway system some thirty years before allowed the working classes to get away on day trips for some healthy fresh air at seaside towns. This great influx of visitors led entrepreneurs to build accommodation and new attractions to capitalise and kick started economic growth in the coastal towns.
This is part 1 of a 4-part series on British Seaside Posters:
c1908 G.N.R. (Great Northern Railway)
Skegness is So Bracing by John Hassallc1908 G.N.R. Skegness by John Hassall
1908 Skegness is So Bracing by John Hassall: The Jolly Fisherman is a poster created by artist John Hassall in 1908 after he had been commissioned by the Great Northern Railway (GNR). It is regarded as one of the most famous holiday advertisements of all time and is believed to have influenced the success of Skegness, Lincolnshire as a holiday destination. Hassall was paid 12 Guineas for his work, and the original painting hangs in the town hall at Skegness. The poster depicts a fisherman skipping along the beach, with the slogan "Skegness is SO bracing". There are different versions of the poster, however, the fisherman and the slogan are always part of the design; one such later design, promoted by the LNER, showed the same fishermen design being tugged along the beach by a toddler hanging onto his scarf. John Hassall visited Skegness in 1936, and was quoted as saying "[that Skegness] was even more bracing and attractive than I had been led to expect.”
Note: A series on the works of John Hassall can be found in the index.
1908 Skegness is So Bracing
John Hassall1908 Skegness is So Bracing
John Hassall1908 Skegness is So Bracing
It's Quicker By Rail
John Hassall
1920s Lowestoft by Henry George Gawthorn (1879-1941) was born in Northampton and studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic and old Heatherley School. He began his career in an architect’s office before turning to painting. His work both fine and commercial art; he exhibited at the Royal Academy and with the Society of Graphic Art.
1920s Lowestoft LMS
Henry George Gawthorn1921 Brighton (UK)
French posterc1923 Saltburn by the Sea L.N.E.R.
Henry George Gawthorn
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| c1923 Dunbar Frank Newbould |
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| 1924 Southend-On-Sea LM&S - L&N,E & Underground Railways Verney L. Danvers |
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| c1925 Saltburn by the Sea L.N.E.R. Henry George Gawthorn |
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| c1925 Great Yarmouth & Gorleston on Sea for Happy Healthy Holidays Septimus E. Scott |
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| c1925 Cruden Bay by East Coast Route L.N.E.R. Tom Purvis |
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| 1925 Southend-On-Sea District or Central London Railways Frank Newbould |
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| 1925 Eastbourne, Southern Railway Kenneth Denton Shoesmith |
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| 1925 East Coast by L.N.E.R. Tom Purvis |
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| 1926 Hornsea East Yoks L.N.E.R. Harry Hudson Rodmell |
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| 1926 Clacton-on-Sea, L.N.E.R. Henry George Gawthorne |
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| c1927 Southend-On-Sea L.M.E.R. R.T. Roussel |
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| 1927 St. Andrews L.N.E.R. Henry George Gawthorn |
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| 1928 Knaresborough It's Quicker By Rail L.N.E.R. Henry George Gawthorn |
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| c1929 Yorkshire Coast - by LNER Tom Purvis |
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| c1929 Travel via LMS Septimus E. Scott |
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| 1929 Eastbourne Southern Railway Kenneth D. Shoesmith |
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| 1929 Broadstairs, Southern Railway John Edmund Mace |
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| c1930 Redcar, L.N.E.R. Henry George Gawthorn |
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| c1930 New Brighton & Wallasey, LMS Septimus E. Scott |
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| c1930 Morecambe & Heysham, LMS Septimus E. Scott |
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| c1930 Lancashire Coast, LMS Septimus E. Scott |
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| c1930 Hunstanton, L.N.E.R. Wilton Williams |
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| c1930 Fraserburgh, L.N.E.R. Henry George Gawthorn |
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| c1930 Dovercourt Bay Holiday Lido It's Quicker By Rail, L.N.E.R. Septimus E. Scott |
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| c1930 Blackpool Fortunino Matanis R.I. |
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| 1930 The Belgian Coast, L.N.E. R. Frank Newbould |
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| 1930 Scarborough, L.N.E.R. Frank Newbould |
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| 1930 Brighton Come down and see me sometime! artist unknown |
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| 1930 Bangor Northern Ireland British Railways Frank Sherwin |
