HAWKINS (DATES UNKNOWN) LEST WE REGRET . . . / DEFEND AMERICA - HELP BRITAIN. Circa 1940. 28x18 inches, 71x45 3/4 cm. L.I.P. & B.A., New York. Condition B+: creases along vertical and horizontal folds and in margins and image. Paper. Adapted from the line "Lest We forget" in Rudyard Kipling's poem, Recessional, this World War II poster was not printed by the United States Government, but by a private committee. Kipling's phrase had become quite popular across the British Empire after the First World War and was commonly used on war memorials and epitaphs. This powerful play on words adds the addition of guilt onto the viewer's conscience. In addition to paraphrasing a British-originated phrase, the designer also liberally borrows from the British design book, using techniques employed by Abram Games and E. McKnight Kauffer in their war work for the British.
