{"product_id":"careless-talk-costs-lives-1941-ww2-propaganda","title":"Careless Talk Costs Lives 1942 | WW2 British Propaganda Poster","description":"\u003cp\u003eA woman in a white evening gown reclines at the centre of the poster, her gaze directed straight out at the viewer with studied calm. Three Allied officers surround her: a naval officer at upper left, glass and cigarette in hand; an Army officer leaning in from the right; a third uniformed figure at far right. The composition is built on social recognition rather than threat: the scene could be any wartime officers' mess or hotel bar. 'Keep mum she's not so dumb!' runs across the lower quarter in loose black brush script. Below it, 'CARELESS TALK COSTS LIVES' in bold red sans-serif capitals makes the point without ambiguity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDesigned by Harold Forster (1895–1975) and produced in 1941 for the British Ministry of Information, printed by Greycaine Limited, Watford and London, for HM Stationery Office. Forster, best known before the war for his Black Magic chocolate box illustrations, brought a commercially polished, loosely rendered gouache quality to this Ministry of Information brief. The poster was part of the broader 'Careless Talk Costs Lives' campaign, which ran concurrently with Fougasse's cartoon series, choosing social wit over shock to deliver its security message. The IWM (PST 4095), the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Archives all hold examples.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy deploying the figure of the glamorous female spy, the Ministry chose a social anxiety familiar from pre-war fiction, repurposed here as a vehicle for operational security. The poster sits at the intersection of WW2 home-front communication design and the era's sharply gendered visual language, which makes it a document of its moment as much as a graphic artefact.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReproduced as an archival print on 200gsm Enhanced Matte Fine Art Paper, using pigment-based inks on a natural-white, matte surface with no optical brighteners. A natural fit for anyone drawn to British wartime graphic history or mid-century illustration.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vintage Poster Archives","offers":[{"title":"A4","offer_id":64406556606841,"sku":"VPA-13883-A4","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3","offer_id":64406556639609,"sku":"VPA-13883-A3","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A2","offer_id":64406556672377,"sku":"VPA-13883-A2","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"50x70cm","offer_id":64406556705145,"sku":"VPA-13883-50x70cm","price":39.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A1","offer_id":64406556737913,"sku":"VPA-13883-A1","price":44.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"70x100cm","offer_id":64406556770681,"sku":"VPA-13883-70x100cm","price":59.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A0","offer_id":64406556803449,"sku":"VPA-13883-A0","price":69.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0994\/1139\/4937\/files\/Propaganda-KeepMum-ShesNotSoDumb-CarelessTalk-1940s__VPA-13883.jpg?v=1788086987","url":"https:\/\/vintageposterarchives.com\/products\/careless-talk-costs-lives-1941-ww2-propaganda","provider":"Vintage Poster Archives","version":"1.0","type":"link"}