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This thesis establishes why the Shell Oil Company produced a series of seventy-one posters of the British landscape in the 1930s. Through an examination of the 76 cm. x 114cm. posters that were attached to the sides and backs of the company’s delivery lorries, the thesis determines why Shell chose this form of publicity. The thesis examines the posters as historical, if ephemeral, artefacts and analyses the social, economic and cultural context of their production. Whilst there has been some historical analysis of poster design within the field of design history, the significance of the poster within these contexts has been largely neglected. The unique hybrid nature of the Shell posters as advertising based upon fine art using over fifty artists and designers makes them a unique repository of British visual culture of the 1930s. This thesis describes how Shell created three landscape poster campaigns, not through the enlightened patronage of its publicity manager, Jack Beddington, but through a complex set of circumstances that included: the cartel that was formed by the oil companies supplying Britain; the development and encouragement of motoring tourism and its effect on the countryside; the middle-class rejection of working class holiday destinations; concern about the preservation of the countryside; the effect of the ‘slump’ on the working lives of artists; economic and aesthetic arguments about the relationship between fine and commercial art and the relationship between landscape and national identity. Chapter 1 explores the background and influences that led to the creation of the posters, including the precursors of Beddington and the development of the poster as a medium. Chapter 2 investigates the inter-war debate that exposed the uneasy relationship between fine art, commercial art and industry. Chapter 3 investigates the concept of ‘place’ and uses case studies of places Shell wished to portray as destinations. Chapter 4 examines, through case studies, how the landscape, as portrayed by the posters, is represented for tourists and also the posters’ function within tourism.

This thesis is the micro-history of Roger Machado, who is best known as Leicester Herald for Edward IV, Edward V, and Richard III, and the senior herald, Richmond King of Arms, for Henry VII. Prior to this thesis, Machado has only been sparsely considered by scholars because he is elusive in the historical record. There is, in the College of Arms, his extant memorandum book, but otherwise, sources referring to him are few and far between. However, in the 1970s, Machado’s Southampton residence was excavated, which unearthed a rich artefact assemblage associated with his occupancy. This discovery has allowed for a fresh perspective on Machado’s life. This thesis, therefore, uses both documentary and archaeological sources to unlock the man from the records, and consequently, places a strong emphasis on the importance of interdisciplinary research. By pursuing a micro-historical approach that focusses on Machado’s engagement with objects, this thesis uses Machado as a window into the world in which he lived. Machado lived through the later years of the Wars of the Roses and through the entire reign of the Tudor dynasty’s first monarch, Henry VII. Therefore, his life is well placed to enable this thesis to consider broader themes. The first chapter discusses the micro-historical approach. The second chapter discusses how Machado, as a foreigner, came to work and live in England, how he came to join the exiled Henry Tudor, and examines the herald and Office of Arms in the fifteenth century. The third chapter considers the ceremonial role that Machado and the heralds played at the Yorkist and early Tudor courts. The fourth chapter considers Machado’s life and home in early Tudor Southampton, using the objects excavated from his house and others recorded in his extant inventory. The fifth chapter discusses how Machado would have used such objects in dining.