Keep Calm and Poster On The image is so iconic, it’s been co-opted countless times, but in Swann Galleries’ upcoming Vintage Posters auction we have the original: a 1939 Keep Calm and Carry On poster. When Britain formally declared war on Germany, the newly re-formed British Ministry of Information began working on a giant publicity campaign to prepare and reassure the British populace. Three slogans were chosen for broadsides with white text against boldly colored backgrounds. Instead of a photograph or illustration, each poster bore a depiction of the crown of King George VI at the top. The first two posters, Freedom Is in Peril / Defend It With All Your Might and Your Courage Your Cheerfulness Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory, were distributed and posted around Britain during the end of September and October of 1939. The third, and now most famous, was held back in case of the invasion of Britain or another catastrophic event. The public did not respond well to the first two posters. Papering the country with posters encouraging people to defend freedom and project optimism when nothing was happening turned out to be something of a public relations disaster. Since the expected German invasion never materialized, and because the earlier posters had been met with such derision, Keep Calm and Carry On was never posted and was kept in storage for years. After the war the remainders were scrapped for their pulp. Contemporary reports estimate that almost 2.5 million copies of the poster were printed. An HMSO (His Majesty’s Stationary Office) printing slip order form for the job breaks down that number, showing that the poster was printed in 12 different sizes, and that in this 30×20 inch format, only 496,500 were printed. This is only the second copy in this size to come up for public sale. Share Facebook Twitter July 11, 2014Author: Swann CommunicationsCategory: Vintage Posters Tags: British posters Keep Calm and Carry On Nicholas Lowry Notes from the Catalogue posters Vintage Posters World War Two WWII Previous Top Lots: Melville’s Whale, Signed Flannery O’Connor Firsts, Rex Stout Titles Next “The Great War” in Posters Recommended Posts Los Angeles Assemblage Artists African American Art March 28, 2017 Vintage Posters: At Auction August 27, 2020 Vintage Posters August 4, 2020 Records & Results: Vintage Posters Featuring Highlights from the Gail Chisholm Collection Vintage Posters March 9, 2018