'The Furnace'. An original design, in body colour, for one part of a six part poster promoting the purchasing of goods produced by the British Empire. By Clive Gardiner. Great Britain. 1927.

'The Furnace'. An original design, in body colour, for one part of a six part poster promoting the purchasing of goods produced by the British Empire. Signed and dated '27.

Given by the Empire Marketing Board.

Formerly part of the permanent collection of the British Institute of Industrial Art, which was transferred to the Victoria & Albert Museum on 1 January 1934. (Museum numbers E.3872 to 4116-1934. These were not included in the published Accessions register for 1934.)
The British Institute of Industrial Art (BIIA) existed from 1919 to 1934. It was established by the Board of Trade and the Board of Education with the primary aim of raising the standard of design in British manufacturing industry. Though its activities, it also sought to influence public taste, and contained numerous examples of popular Art Deco and interwar period styles. The BIIA opened an Exhibition Gallery in Knightsbridge, London, and, during the two decades of its existence, held a series of exhibitions and public lectures, and published various reports. In 1922, the BAAI held their annual show at the V&A. The organisation was dissolved in 1934 when the Board of Trade decided to take direct responsibility for the arts and industry. 361 objects from the BIIA permanent collection were transferred to the V&A, largely consisting of ceramics and prints. These objects were on long term display in the north court galleries of the V&A prior to their official transfer into the permanent V&A collection in 1934.

Original design for one of a six part poster entitled 'Empire Buying Makes Busy Factories' (see E.443:1 to 6-1932).

The Empire Marketing Board (1928-1933) was established to promote the products of the British Empire within the United Kingdom. The products were chiefly foodstuffs, but they included some industrial commodities too. The EMB was a major patron of graphic designers and film-makers. The design and content of the posters was self-consciously superior to those of advertisements. The EMB commissioned many well-known artists, including Edward Mcknight Kauffer and Gerald Spencer Pryse. Artists were asked to re-submit work that failed to display sufficient technical accuracy or which lapsed into fantasy. Clive Gardiner's strikingly modernist design was issued as part of a series of posters stressing the economic interdependence of Britain and its overseas Empire.

E.324-1934