Snapshots of the Past

Hawaii by flying clipper--Pan American Airways System – Antique Print

Hawaii by flying clipper--Pan American Airways System, [ca. 1938] — vintage poster
Hawaii by flying clipper--Pan American Airways System, [ca. 1938]. Vintage poster from the Aviation collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This rare vintage poster captures Hawaii by flying clipper--Pan American Airways System in remarkable detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Hawaii by flying clipper--Pan American Airways System

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Few travel posters of the late 1930s put the airplane itself at the center of the scene, but this one does. Its title, "Hawaii by Flying Clipper," refers to the Sikorsky S-42 and later Martin M-130 flying boats that Pan American Airways used for its transpacific service, which made the trip to Honolulu a matter of a day or two rather than the better part of a week by ship. The lithograph was produced to promote that new route, and its subjects, Hawaiian people and tourism in the islands, appear alongside the seaplane as an invitation to a faraway destination. It is worth noticing how the poster treats air travel as a glamorous luxury of the period, a view that Pan Am's advertising helped to establish.

Created / published[ca. 1938]
Medium1 print (poster) : lithograph, color.
GenreTravel posters American 1930-1950.Advertisements 1930-1950.Offset lithographs Color 1930-1950.
NotesPromotional goal: U.S. E5. 1937? Published in: Eyes of the nation : a visual history of the United States / Vincent Virga and curators of the Library of Congress ; historical commentary by Alan Brinkley. New York : Knopf, 1997.
SubjectsPan American Airways Corporation--Public relations--1930-1950. Hawaiians--1930-1950. Tourism--Hawaii--1930-1950. Seaplanes--Hawaii--1930-1950.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,420 × 1,126 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-217318

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