Dandenong Ranges - Vintage Travel Poster by James Northfield

One of Melbourne and Victoria's most-loved tourist areas, the Dandenong Ranges, gets special attention from master designer James Northfield in this charming travel poster from the 1930s. Northfield's signature themes of healthy outdoor activity combined with inspiring landscape views are strongly in evidence here.

As in his Apollo Bay design, Northfield revels in the wholesome appeal of the Ranges as a holiday and activity destination, showing off the leisure fashions and hairstyles of the day as well as the characteristic forested hills.

As always, Northfield has a keen eye for contrasts. Notable are the non-naturalistic, multicoloured light effects in the background landscape, which contrast with the pristine design of the protagonists' tennis whites. In the foreground, he pits the Australian Tree Fern on the right with the Eucalyptus or 'Gum' tree to the left, both of which are ubiquitous in the area.

© All Northfield images courtesy of James Northfield Heritage Art Trust
Text © Vintage Portfolio

Vintage Portfolio is Australia's leading producer of vintage travel posters and advertising posters from the 1930s, 1940s and beyond. The collection includes key designs by James Northfield, Australia's best-loved graphic artist of the era. We also carry a collection of modern subjects which lovingly revive the charm of 20th Century art and design.