Further Reading

Designs on Delivery: GPO Posters from 1930 to 1960

A downloadable leaflet to accompany the exhibition

Between 1930 and 1960 the role of design in promoting social progress and technological change across Britain was crucial. The commercial poster reached cultural maturity during these decades and became the most eloquent of the mass media, while the Post Office became a leader in the field of poster design.

This potted version of the Designs on Delivery exhibition features extra photographs from the Royal Mail Archive.

Download the Designs on Delivery leaflet

Poster Design on the BPMA blog

A series of blogs on GPO posters

Archivist Vanessa Bell has been blogging about the BPMA's extensive poster collection throughout 2009. Topics covered include Air Mail and Post Early.

View poster design articles on the BPMA blog

Designs on Delivery on Archives Hub

Online access to the exhibition with additional information

Archives Hub provides a single point of access to 23,480 descriptions of archives held in 184 UK repositories. Their website includes an online version of this exhibition, with additional contextual information and links to material held in other UK archives.

View Designs on Delivery on Archives Hub

Designs on Delivery on Flickr

The Designs on Delivery posters - plus a few extras!

Large size scans of all the Designs on Delivery posters and photographs, with extra posters not included in the exhibition. Tag the images and share with friends.

View Designs on Delivery on Flickr

Shop Products

A range of products featuring GPO posters are available from the BPMA Shop.

Postcard Packs

Two sets of four postcards

Send your friends a classic GPO poster postcard. Includes posters designed by Alick Knight, Hans Unger, Graham Sutherland, Tom Eckersley and Edward McKnight Kauffer.

Price per pack

£2.50

Buy

Fridge Magnets

GPO-commissioned posters in miniature

Includes Please Pack Parcels Very Carefully by Tom Eckersley and Post Early by Peter Huveneers.

Price per magnet

£2.95

Buy

Write Instead stationery

Wiro-bound notebook, note-cards and correspondence card pad, all with a cover design by Zero

These items all feature an original poster design for the GPO by the graphic designer Hans Schleger, better known by the pseudonym Zero. These quality items are our way of encouraging the art of the handwritten message… as Zero says, "Think ahead, write instead!"

Prices

Wiro-bound notebook - £4.95
Note-card pack with envelopes - £3.95
Correspondence card pad - £3.50

Buy

Virtual Gifts

Help preserve an iconic GPO poster in our collection

Just £30 will cover the cost of housing a poster within a protective transparent pocket and the production of a high resolution digital scan of one of these much loved items – all enabling safe handling of the poster and the availability of a good quality image to ensure that the original is preserved for posterity.

Price

£30 (includes a free Tom Eckersley fridge magnet)

Buy

Download an order form from the Virtual Gifts page or telephone 020 7239 5125.

Poster Shop

Art Prints, Canvas Prints and Framed Prints of vintage Post Office Posters

This collection of posters showcases the Post Office's history - pillar boxes, stamps, letters, parcels, postmen - through war, peace and technological change. Any size prints and framed pictures, superb fine art quality, and worldwide delivery (UK free).

Buy

Order online from www.postalheritageprints.co.uk.