The History of the London Underground Poster

David Booth's The Tate Gallery by Tube - 1986 proved to be one of the most popular posters and has been sold around the world. It was an advert for the Tate Gallery and shows a tube map being made from lines of paint squeezed from a paint tube with the tube logo and the word Pimlico on it (Pimlico is the nearest tube station to the Tate Gallery).

By the 1990's advertising was being sold more agressively by TDI (now Viacom outdoor), so there were fewer of these "free" spaces. Even so, market research showed that the public liked these images which weren't hard sell and provided something everyone could enjoy. Now the London Transport museum is home to the great historic archives of the tube poster and is also the principal retail outlet for these posters.

Oliver Green who wrote a book called "Underground Art" concludes that the use of posters has come full circle and says that "the medium is still being put to thoughtful and creative use, brightening the daily travelling environment for millions of people in the biggest art gallery in the world."

For more on the history of London underground posters check out The London Transport Museum's page and Scott Carter's page on tube art.

For more on life on the London Underground try Goingunderground.net

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