Summer Sales Quickly Reached

In 20th-century England, store markdowns happened just twice a year, in the winter after the holidays and in the summer. This poster promotes the Underground as a rapid—and dry—mode of transit to this exciting biannual event. A stream of gaily colored umbrellas, with few solid black ones (the color commonly used by men) in sight, is funneled toward the train to reach shopping destinations. Is the black-and-white umbrella with a design reminiscent of a spider’s web at the very front of the poster an allusion to the snares of consumerism?