This poster celebrated the inaugural run of the Blue Bird Express, a high speed luxury train that "flew" between Anvers through Brussels and on to Paris. The train, owned by Wagon-Lits and utilizing Pullman luxury cars, was named for the famous play by Belgian Maurice Maeterlinck about the beauty and joy of simple things, symbolized by a blue bird. Cassandre cleverly plays upon the train's name by featuring a surrealist vision of the bird in stopped motion with a blurred backdrop of railroad signage, steam and telegraph lines. It is an evocative and unique poster that captures the dreamy quality of riding on a speedy and luxurious train, a moment suspended in time. The poster is a testament to Cassandre's ability to use the vocabulary of modern art to create ingenious messages for his clients. Like many Cassandre rail assignments, this has a great deal of text which Cassandre dynamically weaves into the design and renders with clarity and beauty. In mint condition, this is a rare and unforgettable image created two years after the artist's first Machine Age masterpieces, Nord Express and Etoile du Nord.