Sea Cliff, Long Island Travel Poster: Just One Long Step, 1936

“Just one long step to Sea Cliff,” created in 1936 by an anonymous Art Deco poster artist, captures the breezy allure of Sea Cliff on Long Island’s North Shore. In the confident visual language of the 1930s, the poster invites city dwellers to an elevated coastal retreat—literally and figuratively—proclaiming Sea Cliff as “250 feet above sea level.” With its streamlined figure, bold lettering, and sun-splashed palette, this piece distills the optimism of interwar American travel culture and the easy escape from New York City to a village famed for its high bluffs, salt air, and harbor views.

This listing offers a museum-quality fine art print of the original poster, produced by The Unique Maps Co. on either acid-free archival paper or luxurious artist’s cotton canvas. Choose from a range of sizes to suit your space, with optional framing and mounting for a ready-to-hang finish. We gladly personalize—add a commemorative date, a gift message, or a custom gallery label—and can adjust cropping and color balance to complement your décor.

The artist behind this work is unrecorded, like many commercial illustrators of the period who worked in bustling New York lithographic houses. Their craft emphasized clarity at a glance: crisp silhouettes, unfussy lines, and persuasive typography meant to stop a passerby in their tracks. While the name is lost to history, the hand is assured—an adept practitioner of the Art Deco poster idiom and its fusion of modernist form with marketing punch.

Sea Cliff itself is the star: a walkable coastal village perched on dramatic bluffs above Hempstead Harbor, long cherished for its shoreline breezes and resort-town charm. In 1936, as leisure travel expanded and commuter lines made weekend getaways effortless, posters like this promised a reprieve from the city’s pace—sun, sea, and neighborhood strolls at an easy remove from Manhattan. The playful line “Just one long step” hints at simple access, while “250 feet above sea level” speaks to the refreshing elevation and clean horizons that define Sea Cliff’s setting.

Design lovers will be drawn to the poster’s visual harmony: a dominant field of yellow evokes warm light, with black geometry and red accents adding crisp definition. Flat planes and angular forms move the eye upward, echoing the village’s cliff-top perch and the purposeful stride of the central figure. It’s a timeless composition—decorative yet disciplined—that pairs beautifully with modern interiors, coastal palettes, and mid-century furnishings. Whether hung in an entryway or above a bar cart, it adds instant character and a dash of 1930s glamour.

A thoughtful gift for anyone who loves Long Island’s North Shore, has fond memories of Sea Cliff, or collects Art Deco travel ephemera. Ideal for birthdays, housewarmings, weddings, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, or as a festive Christmas present—especially for someone who’s recently visited or is planning a nostalgic return to this charming cliff-top village.

If you're not sure what size to order, or you're looking for a custom order of some kind – a different size, a different colour, a special frame – then please contact me. I usually respond within a few minutes.

You can see an example of my fine art personalisation service in the fifth image. Zoom in and take a look. My personalised artwork is always very well received. Take a look at more examples of personalisation.

You can also choose to age your art print to make it look older. This is popular amongst my customers who want their artwork to look like an older, antique print. You can see an example of ageing in the sixth product image, or go ahead and check out lots of examples of other aged artwork.

The model in the listing images is holding the 24x36in (60x90cm) version of this art print.

I can print and frame this beautiful piece of art at sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). If you are looking for a size or framing option that isn't available online, please get in touch.

This artwork is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. My standard frames come in six colours (black, dark brown, dark grey, antique gold, oak and white), and custom framing is available for an additional charge. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.