“Far and Wide: The Golden Age of Travel Posters” is currently on display in the Central Library’s Getty Gallery (second floor), Fifth and Flower streets in downtown Los Angeles, through May 7.

Speed, style and grace—these epitomize the Golden Age of travel in its simplest form. The 1920s and 1930s ushered in an unprecedented era of travel to exotic and romantic destinations. Nowhere was this more clearly expressed than in the travel posters of that time.

The Los Angeles Public Library’s collection of travel posters captures this era. With this exhibition, the library shares its bounty with the public for the first time. Among the highlights are two posters issued for the 1936 Munich Olympics; steamship posters for the NYK Lines, the Orient Lines, and the Grace Lines; and airline posters for Air France and Pan American.

Most of the posters share an Art Deco sensibility; however, there are two examples of Futurist design. All the posters capture the essence of this era, evoking the optimism and exuberance of this bygone period.