Old Pictorial Railway Map of Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire in 1948 - Colchester, Southend, St Albans

This charming pictorial chart of Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire was produced for British Railways' Eastern Region in the years after the Second World War, part of a much-loved series of illustrated station posters designed to tempt travellers out for a day trip or a longer holiday by train. Rather than a strictly technical survey, it is a colourful, hand-illustrated guide to the three counties northeast of London, combining a simplified rail network with lively vignettes of local history, industry and leisure, in the style popularised by artists such as Mary Camidge for printers like Waterlow and Sons during this golden age of railway travel posters.

Across the chart, the principal towns of Colchester, Southend-on-Sea and St Albans anchor the map, alongside the county towns of Chelmsford, Ipswich and Hertford. Smaller, more eclectic details reward a closer look: Aldeburgh is marked for its Festival of Music and Arts, reachable via the branch line from Saxmundham, while Hatfield is shown with a vignette of the young Elizabeth I, who learned she was to become Queen at Hatfield House. Little Maplestead is picked out for its round church, one of only four such churches surviving in the country, alongside scenes of sunbathing, racing and flint knapping that capture the leisurely spirit of the era.

This nostalgic railway chart makes a delightful gift for a transport or railway enthusiast, a retirement present for a former rail worker or lifelong commuter, or a corporate gift for a business connected to East Anglia or Hertfordshire. It also works well as a housewarming gift for a new home in the region or a Christmas present for anyone who loves the golden age of British travel posters. Every hand-drawn vignette and label from the original chart has been carefully restored for this print.