Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9

Ernest Wallcousins
1939 Original Keep Calm and Carry On Poster (medium size)

1939

About the Item

Anonymous, UK 1939 Keep Calm and Carry On (Medium size) Ministry of Information Lithographic poster 50 x 37 cm Very rare - we have traced copies in the Imperial War Museum collection but no other public collection. Provenance: part of a small stock of posters cleared from a police station in Suffolk in the 1940s. These posters were generally sent out to police stations in groups of six or twelve. Shortly after the war, during a clear-out of the police station, these posters were put aside to be disposed of. A young police constable requested permission to take them home, and permission was granted. They spent the following nearly eight decades, surviving house moves and a long-suffering wife, sitting in a drawer. Following the policeman's death, his family have allowed the posters to be sold. As the small stock of posters at this police station came in all three sizes (small at 38 x 25 cm; medium at 38 x 50 cm; large at 75 x 50 cm) we are able to offer all three for sale today. An instantly-recognisable brand today, this poster was reserved for use in the event of the German invasion. Once it became obvious that they were not going to invade, these posters were sent back for recycling. As they were never used, the survivors are incredibly rare. Of public collections only the Imperial War Museum – which has a very extensive collection of wartime posters – has a copy of this poster. The story of the poster is well known these days, but bears repeating. In 1939, with invasion an ever-present threat, HM Government commissioned three posters with snippets designed to encourage the population. Bearing a crown at the top, it was clearly intended to be a message from the King: “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution, Will Bring Us Victory” was displayed widely, with hundreds of thousands being printed; similarly “Freedom is in Peril Defend it with all Your Might.” The third poster – “Keep Calm and Carry On” – was distributed, but was to be held back and only used in the event of invasion. In the event the poster campaign was not a great success, with the people regarding it as an instruction from the powers-that-be that it was the people, not the leaders, who were going to be the ones doing the hard work. As the invasion never happened, Hitler’s armies being otherwise occupied elsewhere in the world, and the Spitfire achieving victory in the Battle of Britain, the Keep Calm posters were never used. Owing to the shortage of raw materials, the paper was recycled and there the story should have ended. However, in 2000, the owner of Barter Books in Alnwick discovered a copy of the poster in the bottom of a box of books. They hung it up in their shop and started producing reproductions, and the poster has become an internationally recognised image, reproduced on mugs, t-shirts, and adapted into such uplifting slogans as “Keep Calm and Drink Tea”. A much more successful series of propaganda was created by ‘Fougasse’ – Cyril Bird. Picture editor of Punch from 1937-1949, then editor until 1953, he noted that the best sort of advertising would make people smile. He worked unpaid for the Ministry of Information during the war, producing cartoons with a short word of advise. His Careless Talk Costs Lives series of posters are amongst the most famous of the propaganda campaigns of the Second World War.
  • Creator:
    Ernest Wallcousins
  • Creation Year:
    1939
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 19.69 in (50 cm)Width: 14.57 in (37 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Generally excellent, folded in half as visible in photograph, small area of printing fault top right. We have deliberately not over-restored as it is important that it does not look like a modern reproduction. Linen backing is of course possible.
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU795315048422

More From This Seller

View All
Builders YOU Are Hitting Back Original British WW2 Poster Spitfire Motivational
Located in London, GB
To see our other original vintage public information posters, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find it. 'Builders - YOU Are Hitting Back' Original WW2 Poster...
Category

1940s Modern More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Original Poster: Lancaster Bomber WW2 RAF Aeroplane Owen Miller
By Owen Miller
Located in London, GB
Owen Miller (Auckland 1907-London 1960) Instrument Bulletin No. 1 - Lancaster Bomber Our Target is Their Success Original poster c. 1943 Printed for HMSO by Multi Machine Plates Ltd for the Ministry of Aircraft Production In the last war our airmen were alone in the sky - dependent only on their wings and their wits. Now they find their way, are warned of danger, know their course, their height, their speed, can calculate their change - by the instruments that keep them in touch with the world. Several miles aloft, a hundred miles away, in glorious combat, in desperate danger - it is you who warn, speed, comfort and save them. Britain owes you many precious lives. Born in New Zealand Owen Miller worked his passage to London as a deckhand and worked as an illustrator for J Lyons & Co. In 1942 he began work for the Ministry of Aircraft Production and after the war produced posters for National Savings. Born in Auckland and educated at Wellington College he worked as an artist in New Zealand, working with the Maori peoples and as an illustrator for a Wellington newspaper. Finding working life difficult in New Zealand during the depression he signed on as a deckhand working his passage to the UK. Arriving at the Port of London with £5 to his name his first job was an illustrator for J Lyons & Co, the famous Corner Houses company. His greatest work there was to decorate the directors’ dining room as an aircraft interior. Following the outbreak of war Miller began to work for the Ministry of Aircraft Production in late 1942. When Lord Beaverbrook commenced his term as Minister of Aircraft Production in May 1940 it was an industry beset with problems. Aircraft parts were produced in sufficient numbers, but assembly into flyable aircraft proved more challenging – the Castle Bromwich...
Category

1940s Modern More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

1943 Original Poster Ministry of Aircraft Production: Magician WW2 Nat Harrison
By Nat Harrison
Located in London, GB
Nat Harrison Magician: Work Carefully Avoid Scrap Accidents Sometimes Happen Original poster c. 1943 Printed for HMSO by J Weiner Ltd, London for the Ministry of Aircraft Production The waste-not-want-not campaign of World War 2 in the UK had to tackle waste at all levels. Here workers in aircraft factories are encouraged to work carefully in order to avoid creating products that had to be scrapped. When Lord Beaverbrook commenced his term as Minister of Aircraft Production in May 1940 it was an industry beset with problems. Aircraft parts were produced in sufficient numbers, but assembly into flyable aircraft proved more challenging – the Castle Bromwich...
Category

1940s Modern More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

1939 Original Keep Calm and Carry On Poster
Located in London, GB
Anonymous, UK 1939 Keep Calm and Carry On Ministry of Information Lithographic poster 75 x 50 cm Very rare - we have traced copies in the Imper...
Category

1930s Modern More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Draughts Eat Coal Original Vintage Poster - WW2 Fuel Efficiency Green Energy Eco
Located in London, GB
To see our other original vintage public information posters, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller" - or send us a message if you ca...
Category

1940s Modern More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Second World War booklet: Birth of a bomber
Located in London, GB
Birth of a Bomber Photographic reproduction 38 x 40 cm 'This is the story of the production of the Handley-Page "Halifax" heavy bomber. The Air Ministry of Aircraft production tel...
Category

1940s Modern More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

You May Also Like

L'homme au mouton
By Pablo Picasso
Located in OPOLE, PL
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) - L'homme au mouton Lithograph from 1967. The edition of 500 on Auvergne Richard de Bas paper. With two watermarks - one of the paper, second of the publ...
Category

1960s Modern More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House, Los Angeles - Lithograph on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House, Los Angeles - Lithograph on Paper Clean, modern lithograph of the Ennis House in Los Angeles by Frances Myers (American, 1936-2014). The Ennis House sits at the top of a small hill, cutting a strong line against a soft peach-colored sky. Wright's strong sense of balance is highlighted in this composition, with patterns and lines guiding the viewers eye in various directions around the piece. Numbered, titled, signed and dated along the bottom edge: 7/50 Ennis House - Los Angeles Frances Myers 1980 Paper size: 29.5"H x 38"W Print size: 24"H x 32"W Shipped rolled in a tube. Myers was born on April 16, 1936, in Racine, Wisconsin. She began her studies at the San Francisco Art Institute, but soon transferred to the University of Wisconsin–Madison where she earned a BS in 1962, and an MFA in 1965. Myers employed a variety of printmaking techniques in her career including "relief, photo-etching, and mixed media processes." Myers is best known for her prints depicting various buildings. She once said, “I don’t want to invent a building, I want to bring new life to a building.” Growing up in Racine, Myers was exposed to many of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural works, and she paid tribute to this in her 1980 work The Frank Lloyd Wright Print...
Category

1980s Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Paper, Ink, Lithograph

Pablo Picasso, La Petite Corrida, lithograph
By Pablo Picasso
Located in Chatsworth, CA
This piece is a lithograph in colors (after)Pablo Picasso, done in 1957. Picasso created this piece for the special issue of the art publication XXe Sicle Review No. 10, entitled "Ho...
Category

1950s Modern More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Hommage à San Lazzaro
By Alexander Calder
Located in OPOLE, PL
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) - Hommage à San Lazzaro Lithograph from 1975. Edition 371/575 (Photocopy of the colophone is included). Dimensions of work: 31 x 24 cm. Plate signed....
Category

1970s Modern More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Fleurs dans un Pot
By Pablo Picasso
Located in OPOLE, PL
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) - Fleurs dans un Pot Lithograph from 1957. The edition 153/275. With Arches watermark. Dimensions of work: 44.5 x 33.5 cm. Publisher: Fernand Mourlot ...
Category

1950s Modern More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Jacqueline
By Pablo Picasso
Located in OPOLE, PL
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) - Jacqueline Lithograph with quadrochromy from 1961. Dimensions of sheet: 27 x 37.9 cm Dimensions in frame: 43.2 x 53.2 cm Publisher: Éditions Cercle d'...
Category

1960s Modern More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Recently Viewed

View All