Julius Klinger was a prolific Austrian painter, graphic artist, illustrator, typographer and writer. Born in 1876 Klinger studied at the Technologisches Gewerbemuseum in Vienna but spent most of his working career in Germany, having moved to Munich in 1896. He is believed to have been murdered by the Nazis following his transportation to the Trostinets concentration camp in 1942.

Little seems to be known about Klinger’s commission to produce these two posters for the London Underground in 1929, though it likely they are an example of Frank Pick‘s enlightened patronage and his efforts to modernise the company’s corporate identity. Pick was interested in modernist design and standardisation across the network, and items such as posters could be produced relatively quickly. In contrast his station building programme only began in 1931.

In 2012 Christie’s auctioned lithograph originals of both posters as part of the sale of items from the London Transport Museum archive. ‘Punctuality’ sold for £7,500 and ‘Constancy’ £8,125.