Vintage Ads: Travel in the 1950s

Whether it was by bus, plane, or train, these 1950s ads from The Saturday Evening Post showed that you could travel in style!

Travel ad

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Travel ad
TWA
March 3, 1951
(Click to Enlarge)

 

Travel ad
Pan American
April 14, 1951
(Click to Enlarge)

 

Tavel ad
Southern Pacific
November 25, 1950
(Click to Enlarge)

 

Vintage travel ad
General Motors
November 18, 1950
(Click to Enlarge)

 

Tavel ad
Samsonite
December 1, 1951
(Click to Enlarge)

 

Travel ad
American Express Travelers Cheques
July 1, 1950
(Click to Enlarge)

 

Travel ad
United Aircraft
June 24, 1950
(Click to Enlarge)

 

Travel ad
Greyhound
March 25, 1950
(Click to Enlarge)

 

Travel Ad
Capital Airlines
March 1, 1952
(Click to Enlarge)

 

Travel ad
Santa Fe
October 6, 1951
(Click to Enlarge)

 

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Comments

  1. Looking for work by William (Bill) Zdinak. Do we know who painted some of these ads?

  2. Hi my name is Stephanie Lawton, I work as an unpaid volunteer Exhibition Officer at the Solway Aviation Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria UK (Registered Charity)
    I would like to ask if you would grant me permission to use the image General Motors poster
    November 18, 1950, as part of a display for next year on The History of Aviation
    Thank You Stephanie

  3. The 50’s were wonderful for me: Home from Korea; Meeting and marrying the Love of My Life; starting a family and buying a home. Rock and Roll replacing the great old songs was the only downer and I finally got used to it.

  4. Yes, the 50s, 60s, 70s etc. were all wonderful; but my granddaughter is 10, and TODAY is her “good old days”.

    I wish people would stop living in the past, always yearning for “the good old days”.

  5. As a Korean War vet, I returned to civilian life, a car, marriage, kids, jobs, college, and GI Bill home ownership in ’55. The Post artwork seemed to document our exciting, busy, and joyful lives.

  6. I often yearn for the fifties. I graduated from high school in 1957. The music especially so far surpassed anything I hear today. My sister and I sang duets with many of them, and PBS still features some of the remaining musicians,j and I never cease loving to hear them. I remember when Elvis became popular. We thought his music was weird at first, but as we moved into the 60’s of course (if my memory serves me right), it became favorites.

    What surprised me from your beautiful pictures was the amazing artwork. I remembered that all ads and magazine picture at one time were not photos, but I really had forgotten that was true as late as the 50’s. Big surprise. I do remember them, though, so very well. Thank you Saturday Evening Post

  7. I love all of these ads with their beautiful, enticing artwork. Especially the 2nd from the bottom for Capital Airlines. When I first saw the main picture at the top I guessed between 1951-’53. ’52 it was. The ’50s, like the 1960’s and ’70s that followed, all had 3 distinctive sections of early, mid and late. That’s long gone with nearly everything else, of course. These are all great examples from early section. Planes, trains, buses, luggage and early American Express!

    After all those difficult years of the Depression and World War II came hard won better times which were wonderful, while they lasted.

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