Edward McKnight Kauffer Journal — 1915 Oxhey Woods & The North Downs Colour Lithograph Posters

Carry the spirit of escape—when Edward McKnight Kauffer reimagined the English countryside for city dwellers, he turned a train journey into an invitation to dream.

This hardcover journal celebrates two of the most historically significant posters in British graphic design: Oxhey Woods and The North Downs, both created in 1915 by Edward McKnight Kauffer (1890–1954), the American-born artist hailed as “The Poster King” of the twentieth century. Commissioned as part of Frank Pick’s visionary campaign to encourage city dwellers to use public transport for leisure travel to the surrounding countryside, these colour lithographs were among the very first four posters Kauffer produced for the railways shortly after arriving in London from the United States. Printed by Waterlow & Sons Ltd. and Johnson, Riddle & Company Ltd. respectively, they mark the precise moment when modernist art entered the daily life of the British public—not through gallery walls, but through the platforms and carriages of the city’s transport network. Today they are considered landmark works in the collection of the London Transport Museum and defining images in the history of British poster art.

Front Cover — Oxhey Woods, 1915: Kauffer’s post-impressionist vision of Oxhey Woods, Hertfordshire—a tranquil escape at the edge of the city rendered in bold, flat colour fields. Tall trees rise against a luminous sky, their forms simplified into decorative planes of green, amber, and gold that shimmer with the quiet promise of a Sunday afternoon beyond the city’s reach. The composition balances naturalistic observation with a graphic sensibility that was entirely new to British commercial art in 1915, announcing the arrival of a major artistic voice.

Back Cover — The North Downs, 1915: Kauffer’s stylised panorama of the North Downs, the chalk ridge of South East England that beckoned city dwellers with its open skies and rolling hills. Moving decisively away from Victorian illustration, Kauffer employs simplified, bold forms and a restrained palette to evoke the expansive freedom of the countryside. Together with the front cover, the full-wrap design creates an uninterrupted journey from woodland to downland—an invitation to travel printed on every surface of the journal.

Why This Journal Inspires:

• Two landmark 1915 posters by “The Poster King” united in a single full-wrap design—among Kauffer’s very first commissions for the railways, a historic artistic debut
• Post-impressionist colour lithography in green, amber, and gold—rendered in matte lamination for archival depth
• A tribute to Frank Pick’s vision of art as a daily companion for every city dweller, from platform to countryside
• Landmark works in the London Transport Museum collection and defining images in the history of British poster art

Product Details:

• Format: Hardcover journal with matte laminated full-wrap cover
• Pages: 150 lined pages (75 sheets) with perforations for easy removal
• Binding: Casewrap sewn binding that lays flat and flexes for comfortable writing
• Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.5 inches, lightweight and portable
• Weight: 0.1 kg
• Cover: Kauffer 1915 colour lithograph posters, matte finish; small 0.5"x0.5" production barcode on back

Perfect For:

• Admirers of British modernist poster art and graphic design history celebrating the legacy of Edward McKnight Kauffer
• Travellers, walkers, and lovers of the English countryside drawn to Oxhey Woods and the North Downs
• Collectors of London Transport Museum art and the Frank Pick railway poster tradition
• Transport history enthusiasts and Edwardian era aficionados drawn to the origins of 20th-century commercial art
• Design lovers who appreciate the moment when modernism entered the daily life of the British public
• Thoughtful gift seekers looking for a historically resonant journal for Anglophiles, historians, and creative minds

Carry the spirit of escape—open this journal and let every page remind you that the countryside is always one stop away, and the journey is always worth taking.

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Product information: Generic brand, 2 year warranty in EU and Northern Ireland as per Directive 1999/44/EC

Care instructions: Use a soft, clean and dry cloth to gently brush any dust or dirt off from the center of book outwards.