Be smart act dumb! Loose talk can cost lives thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case Y, Shelf 62, Box E

Be smart act dumb! Loose talk can cost lives

Poster
1942 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

'Be smart act dumb!', World War II poster warning against careless talk, with an image of a man depicted in cartoon form. The man is wearing a suit, hat and bow-tie, and on either side of him are the faces of the enemy. They are represented by caricatures of Hitler, on the left, and on the right a racist depicting of a Japanese man, presumably Emperor Hirohito (although he is not wearing spectacles). The cartoon is black and white, but is against a dark turqouise-green background. Above the image, in white letters, is the slogan, 'Be smart act dumb!', and below the image, printed in black on a yellow 'banner', 'Loose Talk Can Cost Lives'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleBe smart act dumb! Loose talk can cost lives (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Brief description
'Be smart act dumb!', World War II poster warning against careless talk, by Otto Soglow, issued by British and American Ambulance Corps., 1942
Physical description
'Be smart act dumb!', World War II poster warning against careless talk, with an image of a man depicted in cartoon form. The man is wearing a suit, hat and bow-tie, and on either side of him are the faces of the enemy. They are represented by caricatures of Hitler, on the left, and on the right a racist depicting of a Japanese man, presumably Emperor Hirohito (although he is not wearing spectacles). The cartoon is black and white, but is against a dark turqouise-green background. Above the image, in white letters, is the slogan, 'Be smart act dumb!', and below the image, printed in black on a yellow 'banner', 'Loose Talk Can Cost Lives'.
Dimensions
  • Height: 50.7cm
  • Width: 35.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'BE SMART / ACT DUMB!' (Above the image, in white letters)
  • 'LOOSE TALK / CAN COST LIVES' (Below the image, printed in black against a yellow tape or banner)
  • 'O.SOGLOW' (In the lower right corner of the poster, white on green)
  • '© 1942' (Date, in lower left corner)
  • 'DISTRIBUTED IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL DEFENCE, AND AS A MEANS OF OBTAINING FUNDS FOR AMBULANCES WHEREVER NEEDED, BRITISH AND AMERICAN AMBULANCE CORPS, INC., 420 LEXINGTON AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY' (distribution details, running along the lower edge of the poster, in white border, printed in black)
  • 'ART' (Symbol made of an eagle's head, forming the letter 'a', with the letters 'ART' below, within a squared oval)
  • 'LITHO IN U.S.A.' (Along edge in lower left corner, printed in black)
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
Associated objects
Other number
LS.530 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number
Collection
Accession number
E.601-2004

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Record createdMarch 29, 2006
Record URL
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