ABRAM GAMES (1914-1996) JOIN THE ATS. 1941.
28 3/4x19 inches, 73x48 1/4 cm. Fosh & Cross Ltd., London.
Condition A-: minor repaired tears at edges; minor restoration along vertical and horizontal folds.
Games' alluring recruit caused quite a commotion when the poster was first issued. It was "one of his earliest assignments for the War Office [to] attract recruits to the least popular women's service [the Auxiliary Territorial Service]. His 'blonde bombshell,' as she came to be known, as glamorous as a Hollywood film siren and wearing the newly-designed cap that was part of the strategy to dispel the dowdy image that the ATS had acquired, was deemed too daring for public consumption. In October 1941, Parliament demanded that it should not be reprinted. The dramatic lighting evoking places of moral danger, shadowy night clubs perhaps, was as suggestive as the red lipstick and plucked eyebrow. A photograph of a marching, smiling brunette replaced it (see lot 214). Lacking the sexuality of Games' design, it was felt to attract the 'right sort,' something Games' recruit, exhibiting worrying independence and self-assurance, clearly was not" (Games p. 60). rare. We could find only two other copies at auction. Games fig. 18, IWM II p. 32, Judd C.6, MoMA 176.1943.