23 February 2008

Denmark Land of Smiles and Peace, Apparently

Denmark
Retro tourism poster from the 1950's [we think] promoting Denmark as a tourist destination. Using that quintessential icon of Danishness - Woman on Bike. Once again, once again... it's not just us. We are merely continuing a century long tradition with this blog. The child's seat in the artwork is still in use today. Great to have the kid up front as opposed to sitting on a plastic contraption behind you.

And while we're on this retro journey, here's a film still from Hitchcock's 'Topaz', filmed in Copenhagen and, not surprisingly, featuring a girl on a bike.
Hitchcock in Copenhagen

11 comments:

David J said...

Great posters, a nice piece of history. Australia was also headed towards a more free society but like America we traded our freedom for lives of servitude to the automobile and it's pestilent emissions.
How did that happen?

Anonymous said...

I love that Denmark tourism poster. Are reprints available anywhere?

WestfieldWanderer said...

And according to a posting on Dave Moulton's Bike Blog, Denmark is the Happiest Place On Earth

Bolpf Whistzer said...

i like that denmark tourism poster too. and the 1896 print from the new york magazine shows what america could have been if we hadn't become drug-addicted to the car.

Colville-Andersen said...

Denmark always ranks nr 1 in that happy survey. Go figure.
Don't know about prints of the poster. I just photographed a page in a book.

Doug said...

The poster is from 1949, National Travel Association of Denmark. It appears in "Bicycling: the history", David V. Herlihy, pg. 331. The illustration credit is given as Poster Collection, DK40, Hoover Institution Archives.

Colville-Andersen said...

yep, that was the book, thanks Doug!
Wonderfully thorough and helpful reply.

Nemo deNull said...

My great grandparents immigrated to the US from Denmark in 1884 to prevent my great-uncles from being conscripted into the German army (after their area was annexed) but my grandmother never gave up her prayers in Danish. My brothers and I "heard" various words in her mealtime prayer as English but of course they were not at all! I'm sure she was not thanking God for "oyster gowns" as it sounded. My dream is to see Denmark and become acquainted with the country and people. I consider myself a Dane by ancestry, though I actually have more DNA from the UK! After reading this, I'm more convinced than ever that my Danish genes 'rule.'

Colville-Andersen said...

thanks, naomi! wonderful story.

Arnie and Jo said...

Most of my life I have always related to my German heritage, because my mother is German and when young we lived in Europe spending much time with relatives in Munich. My fathers side of the family comes from the area around Ribe, Denmark. But, that never was even brought and played no part in my life, until 2006 when my wife and I spent a week visiting Copenhagen, Aero, Roskilde, and others. We just fell in love with the country and people that we met, and can not wait to go back. That poster wraps up our feelings in a nutshell. Smiles and peace to you.

This Time Now said...

Amazing as ever.
Would you know of any blogs that talk about living life in Copehagen, preferably from an expat point of view?

Thank you!

Felicia