This original 1939 French travel poster was designed by Roland Goujon for the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français. Created to promote railway travel to Brittany, it celebrates the region through its traditional costumes, distinctive landscape and network of historic towns.
The composition centres upon a Breton couple dressed in colourful regional clothing. The woman wears an elaborate white headdress and carries a woven basket, while her companion stands beside her in a broad-brimmed hat and embroidered costume. Stylised granite rocks and green vegetation evoke the rugged Breton countryside.
Goujon employs a vivid palette of green, blue, red, yellow and earthy brown, arranged in broad areas of simplified colour. A map beneath the figures presents railway connections between destinations including Brest, Quimper, Lorient, Vannes, Rennes, Nantes, Saint-Brieuc and Saint-Malo.
Printed by the Imprimerie Alsacienne in Strasbourg, this poster printed in lithograph was issued shortly after the creation of the SNCF in 1938. Its combination of regional tradition and modern graphic design reflects the company’s early campaigns encouraging travellers to discover the varied landscapes and cultures of France by rail.
A colourful and highly decorative example of pre-war French railway advertising, this original poster would make an excellent addition to a collection devoted to Brittany, the SNCF, traditional costume or European travel.
Original Poster
Tourism - Railway - Folklore - France
Printed by Alsatian in Strasbourg
Good condition, some creases, minor restorations
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