Eric Goggin’s Inviting Travel Posters of Atlantic Canada and Beyond

September 7, 2018 By Brett in Art, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island Tags: Atlantic Canada, Canada, Design, Illustration, Inspiration, Posters, Travel, Vintage 53 Comments

Travel posters at their best showcase memorable places in distinctive ways as well as the talent of remarkable artists. A case in point is the beautiful series of travel posters by Salisbury, New Brunswick-based graphics designer Eric Goggin. The stylized design, bright colors and buoyant fonts are all fun. Many of Goggin’s posters have a pleasing vintage feel to them and focus on locations throughout Atlantic Canada.

While well-known cities and areas, such as Gros Morne, St. Andrews By the Sea, Cape Breton and the Bay of Fundy, are featured, Goggin also directs some of his artistry to lesser-known but still picturesque locales, including Cape Forchu, N.S., Shediac, N.B., and Cavendish, P.E.I. Of course, because they are travel posters they fulfill their principal purpose by inviting curiosity and wonder about the places depicted and make the viewer itch to get on the road to see these sites.

You can see more of Goggin’s terrific poster designs on his DestinationArt website here.

Eric Goggin, Shediac

(Images Credit: Eric Goggin)

Similar posts on O’Canada:

¤ Cameron Stevens’ Vintage-Style Canada Parks Posters

¤ Magnificent Travel Art of the Canadian Pacific Railway

¤ Retro Winter Recreation and Travel Ads

Signs of Vibrant Charlottetown

June 27, 2018 By Brett in Photography, Prince Edward Island Tags: Arts, Canada, Charlottetown, Cities, Cityscapes, Inspiration, Signs, Urban 49 Comments

Charlottetown is a delightful city on Prince Edward Island, whose residents are blessed to live in such a vibrant place and beautiful province. Small cities and towns throughout Canada often struggle to sustain a thriving economy and a high quality of life. To its credit, Charlottetown appears to have figured out a formula that works well.

On a recent visit to its city center, I was amazed at the evident diversity of its wonderful shops, eateries and arts and music scene. These shop signs are a small reflection of that. Although PEI may be the smallest province in terms of geography and population, it holds its own quite nicely.

Similar posts on O’Canada:

» Annapolis Royal Through Its Signs

» On the Street Toronto: Fun & Unusual Signs

» Colorful Montreal Shop Signs

Vintage Magic in PEI: Ice Boat Rarities and Island Uniquities

June 16, 2018 By Brett in Art, History, Photography, Prince Edward Island Tags: Antiques, Canada, Canadian, Design, Folk Art, History, Inspiration, Kerras Jeffery, Vintage 35 Comments

Not far from the Confederation Bridge on the Prince Edward Island side of that engineering marvel a scenic backroad leads to the cozy town of Cape Traverse and two of the best antique shops in all of Canada’s Maritime Provinces: Ice Boat Rarities and Antiques and, its sister shop, Island Uniquities and Antiques, which is just a few hundred yards away down PEI Route 10. Both shops are housed in 19th century buildings — one an old church and another a former masonic lodge — that have been masterfully restored and updated by owners Larry and Jane Dugdale.

The exceptional assortment of antiques, curios, artwork and furniture on offer started as a personal collection of the owners that eventually morphed into the well-organized groupings that seem intentionally curated for visual delight. The Ice Boat building features the former church’s simply designed but stunning original red, blue, green and yellow stained glass windows, which cast a warm, luminous glow throughout the place. These shops deserve to be called galleries as much as anything else.

If you’re into stylish old or reclaimed furniture, these shops have you covered; automotive and industrial neon, check; vintage toys, thermometers, oil cans, model boats, duck decoys, postcards and ephemera, tools or farm implements, check to all that too — and a great deal more! Of particular note is the collection of whimsical painted wood sculptures and other artworks by noted PEI folk artist, Kerras Jeffery, who sadly passed away last year at way too young of an age after battling a long illness. The Ice Boat Rarities shop serves as almost a museum of some of his brightly colored pieces and the shop also features a marvelous cloud-painting by Jeffery on the ceiling of its largest room.

In addition, the staff in both places are super friendly and helpful and the prices are about the fairest I’ve seen for antique shops anywhere. These places are definitely worth a visit if you find yourself nearby.

More information about these terrific shops can be found at their respective Facebook pages here: Iceboat Rarities and Island Uniquities. More about Kerras Jeffery and his art is available on the Backroad Folkart blog here, which was formerly written by him and is now maintained by one of his relatives.

Vintage Picture Map Geography of Canada

February 4, 2017 By Brett in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Tags: Canada, Maps, Vintage 41 Comments

nw-territories

I recently came across a copy of an old school book, “Picture Map Geography of Canada and Alaska” by Vernon Quinn, that includes charming woodcut picture maps by Bruno da Osimo, a then noted Italian illustrator, for each of the Canadian provinces (other than Nunavut, which was then part of the Northwest Territories). Originally published in 1944 and updated in 1954, it has a light but well-written chapter devoted to individual provinces. Each map features animals, plants, activities and industries peculiar to the province depicted. In addition to the maps (scanned in above and below), the book is adorned throughout with other delightful illustrations by da Osima (some of which I’ll compile in a future post).

alberta british-columbia manitoba-saskatchewan newfoundland nova-scotia-new-brunswick-pei ontario-2 quebec yukon

The Atlantic Advocate – Part 1: Vintage Trade and Tourism Ads

July 24, 2016 By Brett in History, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island Tags: Canada, Economic Development, Old Advertisements, Tourism, Vintage 19 Comments

Newfoundland Trademarks

The Atlantic Advocate was a general interest magazine published monthly from 1956 through 1992 with a focus on life, culture and business in the four Atlantic provinces — New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. While browsing through a stack of issues from the late ’50s and early ’60s, one of the things that stood out to me was the enthusiastic boosterism of many ads promoting economic development and tourism in those places. The fact that ads of this nature are so prominent in a general interest publication is partly a testament to the economic challenges long faced by the Maritimes and an appreciation by their relatively small populations of the significant impact of industry and natural resources development on daily life in their regions.

Canadian Cities in 1950s Watercolors

July 3, 2016 By Brett in Alberta, Art, British Columbia, History, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan Tags: Canada, Painting, Vintage 48 Comments

Edmonton

For Canada Day weekend, this post features images that span the geography of this vast country. Around 1953, in a grand display of national pride, the Montreal-based alcohol and beverage giant Seagram Company commissioned over a dozen Canadian artists (including several among the famed Group of Seven) to create a series of watercolors of major Canadian cities. The paintings were subsequently the focus of a world tour organized by Seagram to showcase Canada and its urban landscapes.

While recently rummaging through an antique shop I came across a small booklet, dating to 1953, in which these paintings were reproduced and for which this post shows a sampling of the now somewhat faded images. While many of the provincial capitals are depicted, I find the inclusion of several less prominent cities (including Fort William, Hamilton, Sarnia, Shawinigan Falls and Trois Rivieres) to be fascinating.

St. John's

Calgary

Shawinigan Falls

Charlottetown

Halifax

Montreal

Regina

Quebec City

Saint John

Hamilton

Vancouver

Toronto

Winnipeg

Windsor

Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, Other Canada Coastlines Top Rated by National Geographic

November 14, 2010 By Brett in British Columbia, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island Tags: Avalon Peninsula, Canada Coastline, Gulf Islands - B.C., National Geographic Traveler, Nova Scotia South Shore, PEI Coast Leave a comment

Thanks to a justifiably proud friend from Newfoundland for calling my attention to the latest issue (Nov.-Dec. 2010) of National Geographic Traveler magazine, which features a cover story rating 99 of the world’s best coastlines. Coming in with the highest rating was that province’s magnificent Avalon Peninsula. Having spent part of a wonderful family vacation there several years ago (about which I’ll write more in a later post), I can attest to that place’s beauty. The article quotes Ross Klein, a professor at Memorial University in St. John’s, who sums up the Peninsula’s charms thus: “Visiting the Avalon Peninsula, with its close-knit communities and strong local culture reflected in the music and arts, is like going back in time. The unspoiled scenery ranges from stark moonscapes to crystal-clear lakes to open land where caribou roam.”

Of the 99 places rated, 18 made it into the highest category of “Top Rated,” and of those Canada claimed an impressive 4 spots, more than any other country. Making that short list were the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, the south shore of Nova Scotia, and the coastal areas of Prince Edward Island.

(Not surprisingly, Canadian locations also received at least a few other mentions in the magazine’s most recent issue, including an interview about a trek down the monumental Mackenzie River and the Yukon River (p.24), a note on skating on Ottawa’s Rideau Canal (p.36), and an overview of new hotels in Toronto (p. 46).)

Link to feature and complete list on National Geographic Traveler: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/coastal-destinations-rated