"VISITEZ L'ANGLETERRE"

"Chemins de fer de l'Etat et Southern Railway"

"Paris St Lazare" " Londres"

This large original travel poster with its impressive display of pageantry was produced to encourage French traveller’s to visit England by train and steam ship. 

It was painted by the French Belgian painter Maurice Toussaint (1882-1974) in 1932. Toussaint was responsible for several French posters promoting London as a ‘go to’ destination. Many of them using the majestic spectacle of British Ceremonial events to do so.

Toussaint’s painting captures the all the grandeur expected from a traditional military ceremony. Events such as The Changing of the Guards and the Trooping of the Color are incredibly impressive ceremonies that draw in tourists from all over the world. Because of the development of the European railway network and the co-operation between the French and English railway companies, the French were amongst the first ‘tourists’ to visit London and see the events for themselves. 

The scene depicts The Departure of the Monarch after Parliament has been opened. It shows the King George VI leaving the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster and returning to Buckingham Palace in the Irish State Coach. The coach was famously used to convey King George VI and the Princess Elizabeth to Westminster Abbey for her wedding to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Abbey can also be seen standing to the right of the poster.

The driver of the black and gold carriage steers the two horse team down Whitehall towards Buckingham Palace with four footmen standing on the rear of the coach. Whitehall is flanked on either of the road side by members of the Household Cavalry. The soldiers are shown holding their rifles in the ‘Present Arms’ position, a salute in formal ceremonies. In the foreground a Colour Guard is presenting the Union Jack horizontally as the King passes.