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Hans Schleger Zero
'Zero' Hans Schleger Grow Your Own Food Surreal Original Vintage Poster

c. 1940

$2,465.67
£1,820
€2,127.41
CA$3,402.99
A$3,812.10
CHF 1,986.45
MX$46,499.81
NOK 25,243.28
SEK 23,802.61
DKK 15,878.42

About the Item

To see our other original vintage World War Two 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 the poster you want. 'Zero' Hans Schleger (1898-1976) Grow Your Own Food Lithographic poster c. 1940 Printed by Fosh & Kosh Limited for HMSO 76x51cm A copy of this poster is in the collection of the Imperial War Museum. Provenance: the estate of the artist. In this poster the public are encouraged to Dig For Victory. As food had to be shipped across the U-boat-infested Atlantic Ocean, any scrap of additional food that could be grown at home would save the lives of seamen and was therefore to be encouraged. Here the leeks and turnips memorably spell out the word 'food'. Working with Edward Johnson's special typeface created for London Transport, Hans Schleger - or Zero as he signed himself - adopted the famous roundel used by London Underground for use at Bus Stops. Born in Germany, Schleger was an influential graphic designer. After serving during the First World War, he studied at the Berlin Kunstgewerbeschule, being taught by Emil Orlik. The same year Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus at Weimar and Schleger learned the same principles of breaking down the barriers between architecture, design, fine art and craft. A firm believer in the Bauhaus principles of simplicity in design and reduction to essentials, these may be seen in the clean lines of the roundel. In 1924 he moved to New York, applying Modernism to American advertising, and then returned to Berlin in 1929 working for the British advertising agency Crawfords, where he met Edward McKnight Kauffer who introduced him to Jack Beddington the head of advertising at Shell Mex BP. Following the rise of Hitler he emigrated to London where he produced a series of posters for Shell Mex. During World War 2 he worked for the British Government. In 1950 he taught at the Chicago Institute of Design which had been founded by Moholy-Nagy, thus bringing him back to his Bauhaus origins. Subsequently he designed the trademarks of John Lewis Partnership, Penguin, Deutsche Bank and the Edinburgh Festival.
  • Creator:
  • Creation Year:
    c. 1940
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 9.85 in (25 cm)Width: 28.35 in (72 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Backed to linen, A-.
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU79532462403

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