'...but for heaven's sake don't say I told you!'
Poster
1940 (published)
1940 (published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Fougasse was art editor of the magazine Punch when World War Two broke out in 1939, and he offered his services free to the British Government. He produced propaganda material for almost every ministry, and his gossiping cartoon characters injected welcome humour into propaganda posters in February 1940. Their popularity set a new tone for official mass communication. Despite an extended and illustrious career as a cartoonist, illustrator and commercial poster designer, it is probably for his 'Careless Talk Costs Lives' posters, issued by the Ministry of Information for display in public transport, that he is best known. Repetition was a characteristic feature of Fougasse's earlier cartoon style. In most of his 'Careless Talk' posters, multiple imagery plays ironically against the captions as a device to warn against the fundamental dangers of gossip.
Object details
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| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph on paper |
| Brief description | '...but for heaven's sake don't say I told you!'; Design by 'Fougasse' (Cyril Kenneth Bird); One of the series of 'Careless Talk Costs Lives' posters issued by the Ministry of Information during the Second World War; Great Britain; 1940. |
| Physical description | '...but for heaven's sake don't say I told you!'; Portrait format poster printed in colours on a white ground. A man in a telephone kiosk with little 'Hitler' heads projecting all round it. Captioned below the illustration in script, then in larger letters at bottom of sheet 'Careless Talk Costs Lives'. The whole in a red line border; Colour lithograph. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions | Fougasse (Signature; top left corner; lithography.) |
| Credit line | Given by the Ministry of Information |
| Production | One of a set of eight images on the theme 'Careless Talk Costs Lives'. Reason For Production: Commission |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Fougasse was art editor of the magazine Punch when World War Two broke out in 1939, and he offered his services free to the British Government. He produced propaganda material for almost every ministry, and his gossiping cartoon characters injected welcome humour into propaganda posters in February 1940. Their popularity set a new tone for official mass communication. Despite an extended and illustrious career as a cartoonist, illustrator and commercial poster designer, it is probably for his 'Careless Talk Costs Lives' posters, issued by the Ministry of Information for display in public transport, that he is best known. Repetition was a characteristic feature of Fougasse's earlier cartoon style. In most of his 'Careless Talk' posters, multiple imagery plays ironically against the captions as a device to warn against the fundamental dangers of gossip. |
| Associated objects |
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| Bibliographic reference | Summary Catalogue of British Posters to 1988 in the Victoria & Albert Museum in the Department of Design, Prints & Drawing. Emmett Publishing, 1990. 129 p. ISBN: 1 869934 12 1 |
| Other number | 4/C12 - V&A microfiche |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.2168-1946 |
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| Record created | March 13, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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