Fly TWA - Europe

This Europe poster was created circa 1960 by the gifted American artist David Klein (1918 -2005) for TWA. Klein chose to depict some of the European highlights for this poster: The Roman Colosseum, a Greek column, the Eiffel tower in Paris, the Big Ben in London, a Venetian gondola and a woman dressed in a dirndl (traditional feminine dress worn in Austria, South Tyrol, and Bavaria). TWA (Trans World Airlines) was formed in 1924 as Transcontinental & Western Air. The airline's first route was New York to Los Angeles, soon followed by multiple National routes. The airline expanded to serve Europe, the Middle East and Asia after WWII when the company was under the control of Howard Hughes, owner from 1939 until 1961. Hughes was a dominant force in expanding and promoting the routes flown by his company. The economy was vastly improving, and travels through air for business and pleasure increased too. Posters were a key element to promoting this form of travel and TWA. The airline