Designs on delivery: Post Office posters from 1930 to 1960

Air-mail routes (1937) designed by Edward McKnight Kauffer. One of the most influential graphic designers during the 1930s, McKnight Kauffer painted the Post Office as a pioneer of technological progress Photograph: The British Postal Museum & Archive

Action Stations: Saving Is Everyone's War Job (1944) by FHK Henrion, a German-born designer who came to Britain in 1936. He designed a number of posters promoting the Post Office Savings Bank during the war years, used to allay public fears that savings would be safer in banks Photograph: The British Postal Museum & Archive

Loading Air Mails for the Empire: Croydon (1934) by HS Williamson. This poster promoted the Post Office's new air-mail service, which by the end of 1934 offered regular deliveries between London and Australia. It was part of a series of posters designed for schoolchildren, illustrating how the postal service developed with different modes of transport Photograph: The British Postal Museum & Archive

Outposts of Britain: A Postman in Northern Scotland (1937) by Edward McKnight Kauffer. It was one of the first posters to use photography in its design Photograph: The British Postal Museum & Archive

Please Pack Parcels Very Carefully (1957) by Tom Eckersley. As well as this Staffordshire dog, Eckersley produced posters featuring a broken cat and pig – each with a teardrop under one eye Photograph: The British Postal Museum & Archive

Post Early Parcels by Dec 18. Letters by Dec 20 (1947) by Leonard Beaumont. A public information poster promoted in attempt to reduce last-minute posting before Christmas Photograph: The British Postal Museum & Archive

A Postal Guide to the Maze of London (1950) by Polish designers Jan Le Witt and George Him. The fantastical nature of their designs tempers the functionality of this poster, which details Post Offices addresses and opening hours Photograph: The British Postal Museum & Archive

Think Ahead Write Instead (1945) by Hans Schleger, a popular designer at the Post Office in the war years. With pressures on telephone services due to the mobilisation of staff, this poster encourages the public to send a letter, rather than congest the phone lines Photograph: The British Postal Museum & Archive

The Last Minute (1935) by Vanessa Bell. The Post Office commissioned the Bloomsbury artist to design this poster, which was intended to change the public habit of posting at the end of the day Photograph: The British Postal Museum & Archive

Cheaper Parcel Post (1935) by Barnett Freedman. The Post Office began promoting its services on vehicles in 1934. The simplicity and clarity of this design helped to communicate its message in a quick glance Photograph: The British Postal Museum & Archive