Travel, Transportation, and Tourism

The Wolfsonian’s collection captures the revolution in transportation that took place from the late nineteenth century onward, with the development of automobiles and air travel as well as the vast expansion of railroads and steamship lines. Commercial posters promoted the new means of travel; decorative arts drew aesthetic inspiration from the powerful forms of ocean liners, streamlined locomotives, and airplanes; and propaganda material hailed the achievements of pioneer aviators, such as Italy’s Italo Balbo. The related rise of the modern tourist industry is documented by promotional materials of all kinds, including the Vicki Gold Levi collection of advertisements, brochures, menus, and other items from pre-Revolutionary Cuba and the Laurence Miller Collection of ocean liner and cruise ship industry materials.