Imperial Airways Canopus Empire Flying Boat James Gardner

Original vintage travel advertising poster for The Empire Flying-Boat of Imperial Airways - Length 88ft Height from water line 24ft Speed 200mph Span 114ft Weight fully loaded 18 tons - 28 are now being built for use on the Empire Routes - Crew 4 Accommodation 24 passengers on day stages and 16 on night journeys. Stunning technical cut-out design by the British artist and illustrator James Gardner (James "Leslie" Gardner; 1907-1995) featuring "the most luxurious Flying Boat in the world" flying at night with stars in the background and the lights of a small coastal town and harbour below, the detail inside the plane depicting passengers and crew members in different sections of the aircraft including the cockpit, smoking cabin, kitchen and lavatories, midship cabin and after cabin with the mail, freight and baggage hold behind the end sleeping berth, all described along with the various components of the plane fuselage, wings and engines referenced in small text around the aircraft. The Canopus was the first Empire flying boat to be built, taking its maiden flight in 1936. Horizontal. Printed in England by Ben Johnson and Co Ltd, London and York. Good condition, restored tears, backed on linen.