Posters from the 1930s that promoted Shrewsbury as a ‘destination town’ are fascinating; they seem to tell social historians so much about attitudes of the time.
For us though, the most interesting element of this poster is the way that the ancient and original town-seal (which dates to 1425) has pride of place on it (see full pic below).
Why the PR people of the time thought the town’s seal would grab the attention of potential tourists is difficult to fathom. Perhaps its presence on this poster does underline the town’s ‘historicity’ though.
Incidentally, the scene in the poster is real. It shows the public gardens in front of Castle Gates House, from which one can go (through the arch) into the grounds of the castle (now a museum), with Laura’s Tower at the right.
The style of poster was not unusual. The major railway companies produced lots of these sorts of posters, all with a very similar design approach. They were supposed to encourage people to take trips (on railways of course) to destination-towns such as York and Nottingham, and many more.
One can almost date Shrewsbury’s mass-tourism profile from the era in which these posters started to appear.
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