These are simply the best posters available! You will be thrilled with the image quality, vivid colors, fine paper, and unique subjects.
OUR POSTERS ARE SIZED FOR STANDARD OFF-THE-SHELF FRAMES, WITH NO CUSTOM FRAMING REQUIRED, PROVIDING HUGE COST SAVINGS!
This beautiful reproduction poster created by renowned Swiss artist Otto Ernst (1884-1967) has been re-mastered from an original advertising poster for the Furka-Oberalp Railway, promoting their service in the Swiss Alps.
This circa 1930 stunning Art Deco-style poster features an electric Furka-Oberalp railway car rounding a corner, on a rail line carved into a steep mountainside. The iconic Glacier du Rhone or Rhone Glacier rises dramatically in the background.
The vibrant colors and detail of this classic image have been painstakingly brought back to life to preserve a great piece of history.
The high-resolution image is printed on heavy archival photo paper, on a large-format, professional giclée process printer. The poster is shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, and is ready for framing.
The 13"x19" and 24”x36” formats are excellent image sizes that look great as a stand-alone piece of art, or as a grouped visual statement. These posters require no cutting, trimming, or custom framing, and a wide variety of these frames are readily available at your local craft or hobby retailer, and online. The 24”x36” size has a 1” white border.
A great vintage print for your home, cabin, shop, or business!
HISTORY OF THE SWISS FURKA-OBERALP RAILWAY & OTTO ERNST
FURKA-OBERALP RAILWAY
The Furka Oberalp Railway (German: Furka Oberalp Bahn) is a mountain railway in Switzerland. In January 2003, the railway merged with the BVZ Zermatt-Bahn and became part of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn.
The line begins in Disentis in the canton of Graubünden, where there is a connection to the Rhätische Bahn (RhB). It then runs over the Oberalp Pass to Andermatt in the canton of Uri. Through the Furka Base Tunnel it reaches the Goms District area and Brig in the canton of Valais. In Brig, it connects to the BVZ Zermattbahn since 1930.
The first half of the line was opened by the French company Brig-Furka-Disentis Bahn (BFD) in 1914. Trains could go as far as Gletsch, starting from Brig. Construction of the second part over the Furka Pass and Oberalp Pass was well under way when the war situation in France halted all works by 1915. The company lingered on but finally went bankrupt in 1923. Two years later, the railway had a new owner, called Furka Oberalp Bahn, founded by the cantons and the neighboring railway companies. Construction work resumed, now with important federal funds, and on July 4, 1926, regular through services between Brig and Disentis began. RhB trains reached Disentis under electric traction in 1922.
In 1930 the tracks of the newly electrified BVZ reached Brig, which gave birth to the famous Glacier Express. The oncoming crisis and the war limited the number of tourists. Nevertheless the FO line was considered to be of strategic importance. This finally made funds available to electrify the line and purchase the necessary motive power. At the same time the Andermatt–Disentis line was protected against avalanches to allow winter services.
OTTO ERNST
Otto Ernst (1884-1967) was a Swiss artist and graphic designer who created numerous travel posters promoting Switzerland. Ernst apprenticed as a graphic designer and studied in Florence and in Paris. In 1910 he became a student of Eugène Grasset at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
From the early 1920s to the mid-1940s, Ernst created many beautiful posters promoting winter sports such as skiing, tobogganing, and ice skating for ski resorts including Wengen, Engelberg, and Rochers de Naye. His work fluctuated between painterly impressionism, elegant Art Deco, and saturated, colorful stylizations.
