Posters, Design

Michael Palin    [Publisher:  Bathampton Local History Research Group  2015]    Hardback    92 pages

Witty and enchanting. Post War Britain expressed through its railway poster art in a very nicely produced book. Featuring a well written and informative introduction, the bulk of the book is made up with full colour full page poster images, each with accompanying notes and details of the artist.

Alan Bennett    [Publisher:  Runpast  2002]    Softback    96 pages

Something completely different, a well written account of the Great Western's extensive publicity literature, copiously llustrated with posters, flyers and brochures from the author's collection. Much of the content has not been seen in print before, and the author's extensive research reveals the sophisticated and hard headed business approach behind such delights as "holiday haunts" and the "Riviera Limited".

Richard Furness    [Publisher:  Author  2014]    Hardback    264 pages

A glorious collection of images, predominantly from the "Steam Age" but also including more recent work, both in contemporary and "retro" styles, including my friend Peter Barnfield's glorious 1980 poster for the West Somerset. Looking at the several poster images for Bath, it seems to me that the Georgian heritage had the effect of stifling artists best creative urges, or perhaps it was the blackness of all the Buildings that got them down. Just a personal opinion of course, today the Abbey looks lovely in all lights and the bus gate and no parking signs are a real picture!