Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case 3G, Shelf DR7

Give 'Em Both Barrels

Poster
1941 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The worker with his rivet gun echoes visually the soldier with his machine gun, symbolising the vital connection between the war effort at home and fighting on the front line. Carlu's poster is characteristic of a genre of war poster design which drew on modern fine art movements. Some felt that this answered a need for purposeful 'war graphics' that were distinct from commercial advertising. Others argued that abstraction would confuse the message. A survey of factory workers revealed that some had mistaken the worker in this poster for a gangster and attributed it to the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation]'s 'war on crime'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleGive 'Em Both Barrels (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour photolithograph
Brief description
Second World War Poster with factory worker and soldier. USA, 1941.
Physical description
Poster depicting a worker with a rivet gun and a soldier with a machine gun. "Give 'em Both Barrels." Both figures in profile. Yellow background. Text printed in blue.
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
  • Give 'Em/ Both Barrels (printed in blue on yellow and white ground)
  • Jean Carlu (lower left corner)
  • Division of Information/ Office for Emergency Management/ Washington, D.C./ U.S. Government Printing Office (printed in blue with eagle crest, lower right corner)
Credit line
Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko
Subjects depicted
Summary
The worker with his rivet gun echoes visually the soldier with his machine gun, symbolising the vital connection between the war effort at home and fighting on the front line. Carlu's poster is characteristic of a genre of war poster design which drew on modern fine art movements. Some felt that this answered a need for purposeful 'war graphics' that were distinct from commercial advertising. Others argued that abstraction would confuse the message. A survey of factory workers revealed that some had mistaken the worker in this poster for a gangster and attributed it to the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation]'s 'war on crime'.
Associated object
E.2916-1980 (Duplicate)
Bibliographic references
  • 'The Power of the Poster' edited by Margaret Timmers. London: V&A Publications. 1998. page 125.
  • 'Second World War Posters' by Joseph Darracott and Belinda Loftus. London: Imperial War Museum. 1972. page 22.
  • The Modern American Poster: From the Graphic Design Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. J. Stewart Johnson. Kyoto: The National Museum of Modern Art. 1983.
Other number
LS.385 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number
Collection
Accession number
E.270-2004

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Record createdJuly 6, 2004
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