Aug 05, 2009 - Sale 2185

Sale 2185 - Lot 115

Price Realized: $ 1,320
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 700 - $ 1,000
ANONYMOUS WE ARE PLEDGED TO SMASH THE FASCIST BARBARIANS / WE SINK THE FASCIST PIRATES. Circa 1943.
30x19 inches, 76x50 cm. Sanders Phillips & Co., Ltd.
Condition A- / B+: minor tears along bottom edge; creases in margins and image; vertical and horizontal folds. Paper.
From a series of at least ten photomontage posters, each depicting members of the British war effort, both military and civilian, explaining (in Russian with the English translation) their particular role in combating the common German enemy. These unexpected examples of military brotherhood and moral support were "Printed in Britain for use in U.S.S.R." Clearly intended to boost the confidence and fighting spirit of the Russian military, they represent an unusual form of propaganda masked as tough, inspirational messages.That Britain should be steadfastly determined in their need to defeat the Nazi forces is not a surprise, but that they would share their valiance and grit with the Soviet Union indicates how dire Britain must have felt Russia's situation at this stage of the war.