London Transport Original Signs

BUS BLINDS

1940s - 1990s

Welcome! After decades of collecting, age and circumstances mean I have to greatly reduce my collection.

You will see some truly evocative and iconic signs from London's famous transport system that I grew up with and depended on. Then, a few real copper coins bought a bus ticket that was reeled off by hand. You entered and left a tube station passing an inspector who checked your ticket.

No electronic barriers to negotiate, no cameras watching your every move and the shiny red trains bore no mindless graffiti. Self-serve ticket machines only took coins and worked via simple buttons. No ‘ology’ in computer science was required.

Remember open platform buses with conductors and tube trains with guards? These often very extrovert people gave passengers a secure feeling often with some amusing banter thrown in.

Upstairs on a bus and in some tube train carriages you could smoke! No ashtrays meant cigarette ends were thrown to the floor.

Enjoy a trip down ‘memory lane’ with me going back to what seemed like a much simpler, slower and safer world.

Virtually none of these signs are in use today, many go back to the late 1960's and some of the maps way way back to the 1920's. These make superb unique gifts that will last a lifetime. N.B. my poor images are not all to the same scale.

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