Travel shop post early

In the lead-up to Christmas we are sharing with you 12 Posters of Christmas, a dozen classic postal posters from the Royal Mail Archive. Today’s is…

Poster advising on early posting over the festive season; featuring the head of Father Christmas, his face in the shape of a stamp, designed by Hans Unger, c. 1964. (POST 110/2638)

In Monday’s blog we looked at the Post Early campaign which encouraged the public to send their Christmas letters and parcels early to beat the rush in the lead-up to Christmas. This 1964 poster by Hans Unger is a variant on the Post Early campaign, reminding the public to travel and shop early at Christmas time too. We don’t see posters like this in post offices anymore but the advice is still good – don’t wait until the last minute, beat the crowds by shopping, travelling and posting early.

GPO Poster Design

Jan Lewitt and George Him's 1942 poster on the topic of posting during the festive season.

Our collection of GPO posters has proved to be a popular topic on this blog, with design enthusiasts, postal historians and many others united in their admiration for the work of artists such as Barnett Freedman, Jan Lewitt and George Him, Edward McKnight Kauffer, Peter Huveeners, Hans Schleger (Zero), Tom Eckersley, and Hans Unger. Their work and that of many other artists can now be explored in greater depth in our new podcast GPO Poster Design.

This podcast is a recording of a talk given at the BPMA last November by Dr Paul Rennie, Head of Context in Graphic Design at Central St Martins College of Art. The talk covers the development of public relations, poster art and communication at the GPO, and the advances in technology which enabled poster designers to work with new and innovative printing techniques.

If you enjoyed our exhibition Designs on Delivery – GPO Posters from 1930-1960, which can now be viewed online, or our last podcast in which Dr Scott Anthony discussed the pioneering work of Sir Stephen Tallents’, the GPO’s – and indeed Britain’s – first public relations officer, we think you will enjoy Paul Rennie’s talk.

A poster promoting early posting for Christmas, designed by Tom Eckersley, 1955.

Some of the posters referenced in Paul Rennie’s talk can now be found on Flickr. For more on poster design from this period visit Paul Rennie’s website or read the blog Quad Royal.