Seaside railway posters go under hammer in New York

The poster advertising Clacton-on-Sea by Henry George Gawthorn has a top guide price of £2,500

A collection of vintage railway posters is expected to fetch £9,000 when it goes under the hammer in New York on Tuesday.

Northampton-born Henry George Gawthorn was one of the artists who created the five pre-war posters to promote East Anglia's seaside resorts.

The artworks, produced between 1923 and 1947, will be sold at Swann Galleries.

The colourful posters were commissioned by rail companies and displayed on station platforms and waiting rooms.

In recent years the artworks have become increasingly fashionable, auctioneers said.

In 2002, a poster produced by Henry George Gawthorn for the London and North Eastern Railway featuring St Andrews in Scotland, sold for more than £21,000, three times its top estimate.

The posters were commissioned by rail firms to promote British seaside resorts in austere times

This poster was created around 1935 for two rail firms which served London, the Midlands and Scotland

Little-known artist H Forster's representation of Great Yarmouth could sell for between £1,875 and £2,500