Search Results: Propaganda from Downtown Brown Books, ABAA

New York: General Cable Corporation, 1945. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. A survey of the propaganda and motivational posters designed and published by the General Cable Corporation during the Second World War. The posters are documented with 33 high quality full-page reproductions printed with spot colors (rather than four-color CMYK separations). On the page facing each poster is a brief bibliographical details about print runs, distribution, and the reason for the poster. This is one of the best books of WWII posters from the period. Many of the posters depicted had print runs in the hundreds of copies and are rarely seen. The remainder of the book offers examples of General Cable's military products produced during the war, illustrated with sepia halftone photographs. About 120 pages; color frontispiece. 9 by 12 inches. Each copy is numbered on a tipped in limitation sticker at the back. The highest number seen by your cataloguer is ca. 2500. First edition (first printing). Some wear… Read More

[Washington, DC]: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1944. Ephemera. Near fine. A poster to encourage the quick unloading of freight trains by railroad employees. The text on the back (verso) says, "It is designed for posting in freight yards, on shipping platforms, and around all other points of freight car loading and unloading operations." The poster, produced for the U.S. Office of Defense Transportation, is illustrated with a freight car with boxing gloves punching caricatures of Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tojo along with the exhortation: "Your government says 'Every hour saved in freight-car turnaround time means more cars available for the victory march to Berlin and Tokio.'" The artist, Fred G. Cooper, designed logos, posters, and did spot cartoons for magazines, particularly the original Life magazine. He is the subject of a monograph by Leslie Carbarga, The Lettering and Design of F. G. Cooper. This poster is uncommon. 20-1/4 by 28 inches. Poster O-608225. A near fine example with minor… Read More

Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1945. Ephemera. Near fine. A 12-by-18-inch "window emblem" poster from the federal effort during the Second World War to keep inflation in check. Text reads, "We charge only ceiling prices or less / We post ceiling price lists prominently / We welcome questions about our prices." This poster was intended for distribution to participating retail grocery stores that agreed to abide by published prices for commodities in short supply due to the war effort. The illustration for this poster shows Uncle Sam with his arms around the shoulders of a male merchant and a female customer. This is an original World War II poster, not a reproduction. A near fine copy with light creasing. Folded, as issued. SHIPS FOLDED.

1940. A fifth-grader's "army reports and pictures" documenting German military victories and leaders. Young Ms. Wolter was (apparently) assigned to collect newspaper articles about Adolf Hitler and military victories, which she pasted neatly into a blank school lesson book. The collection begins with a newspaper photograph of Josef Goebbels congratulating the U-boat commander Günther Prien for sinking the HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow in October 1939. The scrapbook continues with the siege of Warsaw, the occupation of Paris, and the Franco-Italian armistice. An interesting homefront propaganda project. 32 pages; 28 pages with newspaper cuttings, three blanks, one page with a few handwritten notes. 6-1/2 by 8 inches. Very good.

[Washington, DC]: Distributed by O.W.I. [Office of War Information] for the Office of Economic Stabilization, 1944. Ephemera. Very good. A rather fierce-looking poster encouraging women to participate in the federal efforts to control inflation driven by shortages during the Second World War. An illustration of a woman wearing an apron, her teeth and fist clenched dominate the poster. Below the image are a list of seven key actions: buy war bonds; pay taxes; get life insurance; reduce debt; buy only what is needed; comply with rationing; and cooperate with wage stabilization efforts. 20-1/8 by 28-5/16 inches. Small piece of upper left corner missing, short tears at the folds, thus very good. Folded for mailing, as issued. SHIPS FOLDED. This is an original World War II poster, not a reproduction.

(N.-pl.): Sponsored by Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company in Cooperation with the U.S. Government, 1944. Ephemera. Near fine. A World War Two-era homefront poster from private industry urging compliance with federal energy conservation goals through the purchase of consumer products (i.e., storm windows). Compared to official government posters, business propaganda posters are rather scarce. This private poster, compared to official US posters, is also much more sexist than government-issued pieces. The central image shows a rear view of a woman in a suggestive pose bending at the waist while wearing a short skirt. Old man winter futilely blows cold air outside her window. A toddler crouches at her feet. 13-1/2 by 20 inches. Near fine. Never folded. Ships flat. This is an original World War II poster, not a reproduction.

[Washington, DC]: United States Office of Price Administration, 1943. Ephemera. Very good. During the Second World War, posters like this one hung in most of the grocery stores in the United States, but few of them have survived. A key homefront concern of the federal government was runaway inflation, which had posed a significant economic problem during World War One. In addition to rationing, the federal government implemented price controls for projects in high demand and short supply. Stores were not supposed to charge more than the posted price and there was a corresponding campaign to convince shoppers not to pay more. This poster is likely from Richmond, Virginia (rather than the eponymous city in California). It covers meat, dairy products, and many name brands of groceries. 32 by 24 inches. A very good copy, with light chipping to the edges and some minor splits to the folds. SHIPS FOLDED. This is an original World War II poster, not a reproduction.

Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1943. Ephemera. Near fine. A Second World War homefront poster encouraging Americans to participate in the federal efforts to ration scarce foodstuffs and goods. The text is presented in fields of red, white, and blue. 22 by 28 inches. O.P.A. Poster 1943-O-518863. A near fine copy, folded as issued. Minor splits at the folds. SHIPS FOLDED. This is an original World War II poster, not a reproduction.

1944. Ephemera. Near Fine. An American propaganda leaflet enumerating the quantity of bombs being dropped on Germany. The front (recto) is a picture of bombed out buildings; the back (verso) is German text only, translated in part, "During the first three months of 1944, 80,000 tons of bombs were dropped on German industry. 8 by 5-1/2 inches. Paper tanned, but near fine. With a full English translation provided.

Washington, DC: Lumber and Timber Products War Committee, 1942. Poster. Near Fine. A terrific and dramatic home front propaganda poster encouraging lumber production published by a lobbying group of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association (now the National Forest Products Association). The poster depicts Uncle Sam, illustrated in a wood-cut style, holding an ax and pointing toward forested mountains. An article in the Southern Lumberman (1942) announcing the poster series, explained the message the timber industry wanted to convey: "Washington war agencies are gradually--but surely--becoming convinced of the fact that trees must be felled and sawmills kept constantly at peak production if the part to be played in the war program by the lumber and timber products industry is not to be seriously retarded." The article also noted that the industry had secured draft deferments for men working in critical jobs. Roughly 22 by 28.25 inches. Offset lithograph printed in red and green. Very scarce… Read More

1943. Ephemera. Fine. A British propaganda leaflet aimed at Italians living in Tripoly, Libya, in 1943. This leaflet from the Second World War includes an image of a boot with a swastika crushing a building with text on the back warning citizens of Tripoli that the Germans will destroy the city when they retreat. Text in Italian. 4-3/4 by 7-3/4 inches, printed in black on the front (recto) and red on the back (verso). Fine.