After some years of trying to book this, I finally managed to get tickets back in October to take a tour of the now-closed tube station at Aldwych on the Strand. Open as a spur off the Piccadilly line, this station allowed passengers to travel to Holborn only, and though it was never very popular as a station (and closed in 1994), it has been used for lots of interesting things since, including an air raid shelter and a storage place for art and sculptures (including the Elgin Marbles) during WW2, and more recently as a set for films and TV. It is fascinating to learn about the history of the station, and the highlight for me were two series of posters – the first replica wartime posters from WW2 and the second set were real posters from the 1970s when the station was used to test mockups of the decorating plans for new stations.
I’ve posted some examples of these below and plan to go to the Transport Museum to follow these up and find out more about advertising on the tube.
Wartime posters
I’m really interested in the strong layout of the poster above – it uses two colours and the names of the acts are highlighted. But it feels a bit busy and confusing to read – and you would need to be close to see the small text.
1970s posters
Looks like strong Surrealist influences in the poster above, with items balanced on the bottom of the shoe. The Bauhaus style font jars with the shop logo though. I do love the random list of items at the bottom to tempt people in, including “sausage rolls” and “petticoats”.
Clearly capitalising on the Beatles’ fame at the time!
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