Vintage Travel Posters

I'm trying to coax myself to work despite having an awful stiff neck when I woke up this morning.  Not quite feeling it yet, so I'll put up my weekly blog post first.  I talked a little bit about vintage Travel ads when I made my own Hong Kong travel ad.  That led me down to a rabbit hole of vintage travel ads, and speculating about which ones I'd like to purchase.  My favorite travel ad so far is the one above, originally made for Japan National Railways.  This simple yet striking image incorporating the sakura blossoms and a 5 level pagoda (In Nara?) tells you all you need to know about exotic Japan.

Another Japan travel ad I like is by BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation).  I actually like quite a few of BOAC's posters, but this one by Frank Wooton (who ironically also produced propaganda posters during WWII) is superb, drawing you in with its detail and striking use of color.

This is another BOAC ad that I like, inviting travelers to visit "The Orient".  The orient in question looks like Thailand, Cambodia or Burma, based on the clothing and the temples in the background.  Once again the striking use of colors is what makes this BOAC piece stand out.  I also like the sharp, almost cartoony illustration of the vendor, which reminds me of the work of Pixar's Ronnie Del Carmen.

This poster of Les Ruines D'Angkor brings you right back to the early 20th century, when one had to take steamships across the oceans and railroads to get into the interior.  The exotic people in the foreground contrast with the peaceful and mysterious temple in the background, making this a visual feast for the eyes.

Hong Kong Vintage Travel Ad

Yesterday I fell into the rabbit hole of looking up vintage travel advertisements.  I hit upon the idea of collecting these for our condo as a way to decorate and also to remember the places that Aissa and I have been over the last five years together.  Some of these old ads really called out to me for their grace and simplicity, and since I had a bunch of sketches from our recent trip to Hong Kong I decided to make one to commemorate our trip.

I loved this advertisement for NYK steamship lines, which used an Oriental (in this case either Japanese or Chinese) fan to frame the steamship.  I used a similar framing device but instead put my sketch of the Tian Tan Buddha in the fan as the centerpiece.  I also added some copy that I think sounds like 1930s advertising talk.  To make sure it sounded legit I spoke it out loud in my fake English accent.  I like how this came together and I'm hoping to do a series of travel ads based on the places we've already visited.