These illustrated posters were part of an advertising campaign instigated by the North Berwick Town Council in 1902. The North Eastern Railway Company originally organised and displayed the posters, which featured many of their most popular destinations to increase the number of passengers using the railway.

One of the earliest references to North Berwick being called the 'Biarritz of the North' was included in article written by Edmund Yates editor of 'The World' a weekly society journal. In November 1889, Yates wrote an article about Arthur Balfour when he used the term Biarritz of the North to describe the town. In 1923 the London and North Eastern Railway Company (LNER) was created, and Andrew Johnson designed these posters c. 1930.

Frank Newbould was born in Bradford in 1887 and studied at Bradford College of Art before becoming a black and white illustrator and poster artist. Newbould was a prolific poster designer, whose clients included the Underground, mainline railway and shipping companies. In the early years of the Second World War, Newbould designed a recruiting poster for the Auxiliary Fire Service.

In 1942 he joined the War Office, where he was an assistant to Abram Games and designed the series of posters with the slogan 'Your Britain: fight for it now'. It was those and the LNER travel posters which made his name. In 1943 he designed posters for the 'Make Your Money Provide the Driving Power' for the GPO. This North Berwick LNER poster was designed by Frank Newbould in 1923.