How do you decide where to go on holiday? Maybe friends recommend somewhere nice or perhaps you always go to the same place because you know and like it? Have you ever seen an advert for a holiday destination and thought ‘I must go there!’?
Sometimes you see adverts for holidays on TV or in magazines. In the 19th century holidays were advertised through posters. A lot of work went into the design of these posters so that people would be persuaded to part with their money and book a train ticket to the coast. Once there, they might be persuaded to spend their money on activities and refreshments and this in turn would benefit the local businesses.
Look at document COPY 1/221 (1). This poster was made by a railway company in 1904 to persuade people to travel to St Ives in Cornwall for a holiday.
- Spend a couple of minutes looking at the poster. What sorts of words, memories, sounds and feelings come into your mind as you look at this poster?
- How do you think the different people in the poster will spend their time in St Ives?
The man who is standing?
The lady sitting in deck chair?
The children bathing in the sea? - Would this poster tempt you to visit St Ives?