“The Golden Age of Travel” evokes a time when venturing abroad was a genteel, leisurely affair, not the mad crush of irritable humanity it often is today. How civilized it all seemed then, to set sail on ocean liners where everyone dressed for dinner for a hearty evening of droll repartee followed by dancing. Air travel wasn’t as convenient as it is now, but the seats were roomier, the cabins resembled a flying cocktail lounge, and the flight attendants? Très chic! Trains were a rolling dream, offering club cars, sleepers, fine-dining service, and Eva Marie Saint darting about.
It wasn’t only excursions to faraway places that evoked reveries of romance and caprice. For Londoners, the Golden Age of Travel ran on tracks beneath the surface crust. Now the London Transport Museum has opened its Global Poster Gallery, with festivities including exhibition talks, design-your-own-poster instruction, and other kinds of neato activities. One of the delights of delving into the London Transport Museum’s collection of posters is discovering how a mundane trip on the Underground was portrayed as a magic-carpet ride to excite the senses.
