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Don't kill her daddy with Careless Talk

Poster
ca. 1942 (made)
Artist/Maker
US Office of War Information (publishers)
US Government Printing Office (printers)
Smith, Dorothy Hope (artist)
Place of origin
United States (made)

"Don't kill her daddy with Careless Talk", World War II propaganda poster warning against careless talk. The poster depicts a little girl, wearing a short-sleeved red gingham dress with white collar, cuffs and apron, and with her blonde hair in braids, tied with blue ribbon, is hugging a framed picture of a serviceman. She is pictured from the chest up. Her blue eyes look out imploringly at the viewer. Below this image is the message, 'Don't kill her daddy' in blue letters, and below this, in red letters, 'with careless talk'.

Object details

Categories
Prints
Propaganda
Death
Posters
Object type
Poster
TitleDon't kill her daddy with Careless Talk (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Paper
Ink
Lithography
Brief description
"Don't kill her daddy with Careless Talk", World War II propaganda poster by Dorothy Hope Smith, for the US Office of War Information, United States, about 1942
Physical description
"Don't kill her daddy with Careless Talk", World War II propaganda poster warning against careless talk. The poster depicts a little girl, wearing a short-sleeved red gingham dress with white collar, cuffs and apron, and with her blonde hair in braids, tied with blue ribbon, is hugging a framed picture of a serviceman. She is pictured from the chest up. Her blue eyes look out imploringly at the viewer. Below this image is the message, 'Don't kill her daddy' in blue letters, and below this, in red letters, 'with careless talk'.
Dimensions
  • Height: 50.9cm
  • Width: 36.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'DON'T KILL HER DADDY' (Below the image, blue letters)
  • 'WITH CARELESS TALK' (Below the image, in red letters o)
  • 'DHS' (Artist's signature, immediately below image, on the right-hand side, below the girl's left cuff, in pink letters)
  • Star with black outline, 'U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1944-O-570698'' (At the lower left corner, running along the edge of the poster, in the margin; black letters)
  • 'Distributed for the issuing ggencies / by the Office of War Information' (At the lower right corner, running along the edge of the poster, in the margin; black letters)
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
War
Propaganda
Accountability
Children
Girls
Photographs
Fathers
Servicemen
Frames
Gingham
Dresses
Ribbon
World War II
Other number
LS.2436 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.869-2004

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Record createdApril 4, 2006
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O122688/dont-kill-her-daddy-with-poster-smith-dorothy-hope/
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