Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case 1B, Box LS3

Careless Talk Costs Lives

Poster
1940 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Fougasse, whose real name was Cyril Kenneth Bird, was a well-known cartoonist and art editor of the magazine Punch when war broke out. He convinced the Government to use humour for wartime propaganda and offered his services free. He believed the sharing of a joke enabled a poster to persuade without causing resentment by appearing to preach. Fougasse designed a series of eight posters for the Careless Talk Cost Lives campaign. They were produced in a variety of formats both for indoor and outdoor display, and proved so popular that they were even reproduced on textiles.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Careless Talk Costs Lives (series title)
  • Of course there's no harm in your knowing! (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Brief description
'Of course there's no harm in your knowing!', Second World War cartoon poster warning against careless talk, designed by Fougasse, United Kingdom, 1940
Physical description
"Of course there's no harm in your knowing!" World War II propaganda poster. Illustration of a man and a woman, depicted in profile, sitting at a dining table, perhaps in a restaurant; the man leans towards the woman to tell her something, and she listens, head in hands. Appearing from beneath the table, the head and arms of a caricature of Hitler, lying on his stomach, can be seen; he is taking notes.
Dimensions
  • Height: 31.3cm
  • Width: 20.3cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • of course there's no harm / in your knowing! (Immediately below the image in the style of hand-writing)
  • CARELESS TALK/ COSTS LIVES (printed on two lines across the lower margin)
  • 'Fougasse' (In upper left 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
Production
"" World War II propaganda. Part of the "Careless Talk Costs Lives" campaign by Fougasse (Cyril K. Bird). UK. 1940.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Fougasse, whose real name was Cyril Kenneth Bird, was a well-known cartoonist and art editor of the magazine Punch when war broke out. He convinced the Government to use humour for wartime propaganda and offered his services free. He believed the sharing of a joke enabled a poster to persuade without causing resentment by appearing to preach. Fougasse designed a series of eight posters for the Careless Talk Cost Lives campaign. They were produced in a variety of formats both for indoor and outdoor display, and proved so popular that they were even reproduced on textiles.
Associated object
E.2168-1946 (Object)
Other number
LS.1946 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number
Collection
Accession number
E.1562-2004

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Record createdMarch 1, 2006
Record URL
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