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A collection of vintage travel posters featuring British seaside resorts and destinations around the world could fetch hundreds of thousands of pounds at an auction in New York this month.

The rare posters are a throwback to a golden age of train travel when Britons' family getaways were much simpler, staycations were the norm and there were fewer distractions.

Rail companies used the promotional material to lure tourists with promises of family-friendly beaches, stunning sights or romantic locations for couples at a time when very few people were flying commercially.

Blast from the past: Italian artist Fortunino Matania's 1926 poster showing adults relaxing near the seaside in Blackpool is worth an estimated £3,000 to £4,600

Beach fun: Nearly 200 retro posters advertising Yorkshire and other destinations are being auctioned by New York's Swann Galleries on 14 October

It's quicker by rail: The promotional posters are expected to fetch thousands of pounds each when they are sold

Nearly 200 retro posters advertising Blackpool, Yorkshire, Inverness and other destinations are expected to fetch thousands of pounds each when they are auctioned by Swann Galleries on 14 October.

That includes a poster for Blackpool that was created by Italian artist Fortunino Matania in 1926. With an estimated value of £3,000 to £4,600, the poster shows adults relaxing near the sea with a pier and Blackpool Tower in the distance.

One advertising the famous Yorkshire resort of Scarborough features a demure couple picnicking on a hill overlooking the town's golden beach.

Another, for nearby Bridlington, shows young couples sitting on a promenade wall enjoying a cigarette with a packed beach in the background. 

See Britain by train: The 31 British rail posters are part of a collection put together over 20 years by a private enthusiast in Australia.

'Beautiful scenery': The posters hark back to the halcyon days of 1920s train travel when Brits headed for the coast by rail at the first sign of the sun

The posters lured tourists with promises of family-friendly beaches, stunning sights or romantic locations for couples at a time when very few were flying commercially

Adults only: The rare posters are a throwback to a golden age of train travel when Britons' family getaways were much simpler and staycations were the norm

Two particularly posh posters advertising Southport on Merseyside boast beachgoers enjoying the town's outdoor lido and elegant theatregoers mingling in a street.

The tagline is 'Southport - for a holiday in wintertime'.

The posters hark back to the halcyon days of 1920s train travel when Brits headed for the coast by rail at the first sign of the sun. The 31 British rail posters are part of a collection put together over 20 years by a private enthusiast in Australia.

The entire collection is said to be worth around $675,000 - around £420,000 - with the British travel posters making up $143,000 - around £90,000 of the total sum. 

In addition to British seaside resorts such as Felixstowe, the collection includes posters for destinations in France, India and Australia 

The entire collection is said to be worth around $675,000 - around £420,000 - with the British travel posters making up $143,000 - around £90,000 of the total sum

The posters were designed in the 1920s and 1930s for large railway companies that operated around the United Kingdom with the intention of filling seats on their trains

Those were the days: A young couple sitting on a promenade wall enjoys a cigarette in this ad for Bridlington

Nicholas Lowry, president of Swann Galleries, said: 'These posters were designed in the 1920s and 1930s for the large railway companies that operated around the United Kingdom with the intention of filling seats on their trains.

'They also wanted to beautify ticket offices and train platforms where most of these posters were intended to be displayed.

'The posters bear striking, colourful and eye catching images from destinations which the different rail companies serviced. Some show lifestyle images giving visual snapshots of the way of life of the elegant people who vacation in those spots.' 

Time to relax: This ad for the famous Yorkshire resort of Scarborough features a demure couple picnicking on a hill overlooking the town's golden beach

All aboard: Rail companies used the posters to beautify ticket offices and train platforms while advertising their routes

Nicholas Lowry, president of Swann Galleries, says the collection is 'the single best selection of British travel posters that have ever been offered for sale'

 Golden age: A few eyebrows might be raised at some of the depictions of 'idyllic' destinations which appear a far cry from reality nowadays

'Sun and fun for everyone': With vertical and horizontal folds, this poster for Great Yarmouth and Gorleston on Sea is valued at £1,500 to £2,200

He added: 'I have never been to Scarborough nor Southport, but I can certainly imagine that even at the time these posters were created that the areas being promoted did not, in fact, look as glamorous in real life as they did in the posters.

'Neither have I been to either Skegness or a British holiday camp, but I cannot imagine that such a parade-like, attractive, happy riot of humanity is what the average holidaymaker encountered upon their arrival there.'

He said: 'It is without doubt the single best selection of British travel posters that have ever been offered for sale at any one time in terms of being the highest in quality and the rarest and most desirable.' 

For the adventurous types: This ad attempted to lure visitors to Donegal with an image of Mount Errigal

Having a ball: This H. Forster creation (date unknown) is said to be worth £1,800 to £2,500

Swann Galleries president Nicholas Lowry said: 'The posters bear striking, colourful and eye catching images from destinations which the rail companies serviced'