'It's buying time in Britain fly BEA'; Advertisement poster issued by British European Airways; Colour lithograph; Signed; Designed by John Bainbridge; Printed by Baynard Press; Great Britain; 1952.

'It’s buying time in Britain fly BEA'; Poster for BEA, with a cupid as Britannia holding a cornucopia of British manufactured goods, including agricultural machinery, Morris minor car, televisions, radio and radiogram. Aeroplane above. Text in black and red; Colour lithograph; Signed.

The poster, with its punning title, is an expression of the new-found confidence and pride which Britain found in the early 1950s. The staging of the Festival of Britain in 1951, and the beginning of Elizabeth II's reign in 1952, were events matched by increasing economic prosperity and manufacturing output. In terms of British European Airways, the period also brought expansion of air traffic into Europe.

In characteristically witty style, John Bainbridge employs an image of cupid as Britannia holding a cornucopia of British manufactured good for export - ranging from agricultural machinery through road vehicles (including the classic Morris Minor small car) to a television, radio and radiogram. Above flies the new De Havilland Airspeed Ambassador, named by BEA the 'Elizabethan'.

[Margaret Timmers, 'British Design at Home', p.136]

E.254-1981