Edward McKnight Kauffer’s ‘The Colne River at Uxbridge by Tram’ (1921) stands among the most progressive pieces of early British Art Deco transport design. Created for London’s Metropolitan Electric Tramways, the poster showcases Kauffer’s command of modernist geometry: a sweeping red brick bridge arches across stylised tiers of emerald foliage, mirrored in tranquil bands of the River Colne below. Angular shadows and ribbons of soft grey sky complete a rhythmic, almost abstract composition that transformed an everyday suburban excursion into a vivid promise of leisure.

Kauffer—an American-born artist who became one of Britain's most celebrated poster designers—drew on Vorticism, Cubism and Japanese woodblock prints to distil complex scenery into bold colour blocks and dynamic lines. This pioneering approach elevated public-transport advertising into a vibrant visual language that still influences graphic design today.

Our edition is produced from a high-resolution scan of an original 1921 lithograph, painstakingly colour-corrected to match Kauffer’s palette of moss green, burnt orange, ochre and charcoal. Available in a variety of sizes, the reproduction fits standard frames and complements Art Deco, mid-century modern and contemporary interiors alike.