They ’ re the kind of colourful adverts that would have been created by the real-life Don Drapers , Peggy Olsons and other ‘ mad men ’ of Madison Avenue . These vintage posters are a throwback to the golden age of air travel , when flying was an exclusive experience , passengers wore their best clothes and there was plenty of legroom . They ’ re featured in a new coffee table book , Airline Visual Identity 1945-1975 , which revisits a time when the skies were dominated by the likes of Pan Am , British Overseas Airways Corp ( BOAC ) and Continental . Scroll down for video . Pan American World Airways ( Pan Am ) was a dominant and influential airline which declared bankruptcy and ceased operations in 1991 . Many of the adverts in the book featured beautiful women in an effort to glamorise destinations and encourage people to travel . British Airways promoted its launch of the Concorde in the 1970s ( left ) while Trans World Airlines ( TWA ) promoted its New York route . Authored by Matthias C Huhne , the 436-page book contains dozens of glamorous adverts that encouraged those who could afford to fly to visit far-flung destinations such as Haiti , Hawaii , Japan , New York and London . The simple but effective posters showcase each destination with eye-catching cartoons or photos of beautiful women , landmarks such as Times Square and Tower of London , and natural beauty spots including Bermuda ’ s picturesque coastline and Sydney Harbour . New York was one of the most popular destinations featured in the adverts in Airline Visual Identity 1945-1975 . The adverts were created for the biggest airlines of the day , including TWA and Canadian Pacific , which no longer exist . British Overseas Airways Corp led to the creation of British Airways ( left ) while Continental merged with United Airlines ' parent company . It was a time when it cost an incredible amount of money to purchase a ticket for a commercial flight , with many of the ads promoting transatlantic or transpacific travel . The adverts created for the biggest airlines of the day , including many which no longer exist , offer a glimpse at how air travel , advertising and society changed over the 30-year period covered in the book . From a psychedelic image of a surfer in Hawaii to British Airways ' introduction of the Concorde , the posters reflect the eras in which they were created by some of the best creative minds of the time , including Ivan Chermayeff , Otl Aicher , Massimo Vignelli and Saul Bass , Academy Award-winning filmmaker . The posters are a throwback to the golden age of air travel , when flying was an exclusive experience and passengers dressed smart . The book hails the designers ' creative genius and uses special techniques to replicate their work as accurately as possible . In addition to drawings the adverts include photos of natural beauty spots , including Sydney Harbour ( left ) and Bermuda 's beaches ( right ) Mr Huhne ’ s book hails their creative genius and uses 17 colours , five types of varnishes and two methods of foil printing and embossing to replicate their work as accurately as possible . Airline Visual Identity 1945-1975 was published by Berlin-based Callisto Publishers , which offered this synopsis of the tome : ‘ It provides unique insight into the design and advertising methods of an era when airlines were considered the most glamorous business sector and quality was the main criterion for selecting a flight. ’ It retails from approximately £270 online in the UK and from $ 250 online in the US .
Airline Visual Identity 1945-1975 revisits a time when the skies were dominated by now-defunct airlines . At that time flying was an exclusive experience and passengers wore their best clothes . The book is divided into three sections : First, it tells about how airline companies came to be ; Second, it describes what happened after they got started ; Third, it looks at some of the major The book , published by Berlin-based Callisto Publishers , celebrates the creative genius of the designers .