Take Them To The Zoo – London Underground Vintage Travel Poster | Dowd (1924)

Few London Underground posters have achieved quite the enduring affection of this one. Created by Dowd in 1924, it distils the entire promise of a childhood outing to London Zoo into a single irresistible image: a small child, hand outstretched, offering a treat to an elephant’s gently enquiring trunk. The simplicity is absolute and the charm is timeless — a masterclass in the art of persuasion through delight rather than information.

The Golden Age of London Underground Poster Art

The 1920s were the golden age of London Underground poster design, a period when the organisation — under the visionary direction of Frank Pick — commissioned some of the finest graphic artists of the day to promote travel on the network. The brief was always the same: to inspire Londoners to use the Tube for leisure, to discover their city, to take their children to its parks and attractions. Dowd’s Zoo poster is among the most successful responses to that brief ever produced — a work of genuine artistic quality in the service of an entirely practical commercial purpose.

Regent’s Park, Camden Town and the Joy of the Tube

London Zoo, situated in Regent’s Park and accessible from Camden Town station, was one of the great destinations of interwar London family life. For a generation of children, the journey on the Underground was itself part of the adventure — and Dowd’s poster captures that anticipatory joy perfectly. The elephant, the child, the treat: it needs nothing more.

Digitally Restored for Modern Display

Carefully restored from an original vintage source, this poster is presented in full original colour and clarity. A wonderful piece for lovers of London history, transport art, children’s illustration, and the graphic design of the interwar years.

The poster has been carefully digitally restored by an artist remove any major signs of wear and tear and to refresh the original colours, retaining the vintage character of the poster.

COPYRIGHT:
For personal use only.
You should not physically resell or digitally redistribute the artworks as originals nor as modified.

WHAT YOU WILL GET

You will receive a download link to enable you to download the high resolution files with different ratios. They are in JPEG format. Your link will expire in 14 days and you will be able to download the files 3 times.

Please contact us if you encounter any difficulties with this.

A 4×5 ratio file for printing 4″x5″, 8″x10″, 16″x20″, 40x50cm.

A 3×4 ratio file for printing 6″x8″, 9″x12″, 12″x16″, 18″x24″.

A 2×3 ratio file for printing 4″x6″, 6″x9″, 8″x12″, 10″x15″, 12″x18″, 16″x24″, 20″x30″, 24″x36″.

An international paper size file for printing 5″x7″, A5, A4, A3, A2, A1, 50x70cm.

A file for printing 11″x14″.