Fougasse Careless Talk Costs Lives Full Set c. 1940 original World War 2 postersc. 1940

To see our other original vintage public information posters including some very rare other Fougasse 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. Fougasse (Cyril Kenneth Bird) (1887-1965) Careless Talk Costs Lives (set of 8 posters) For HMSO np nd Original lithographic posters 30x22cm each Printed on thin card/thick paper, in excellent condition. The cartoonist Fougasse, was a British cartoonist who was art editor of Punch 1937-1949, and subsequently editor until 1953. He is best known for his ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’ series of posters, and the other posters for the Ministry of Information, London Underground and others. The Ministry of Information’s wartime poster campaign was soon regarded as dull and uninspiring on account of its hectoring messages such as ‘Keep Calm and Carry On.’ There were posters telling the population how to conduct virtually every minute of their daily lives – for instance by saving old clothes for rags, turning off the lights, saving food, digging for victory, or watching out for spies. With this instruction overload the population ceased paying attention to the posters, so Fougasse offered his services to the Ministry of Information unpaid, with a view to bringing a touch of humour to serious messages. An amusing picture and a pithy caption helped to get the message across to the reader. His distinctive style, with the red border, was adopted by other Ministry artists.