JOHN ATHERTON (1900-1952) AMERICA HAS PLENTY IF IT IS USED WISELY! 1943. 36 1/4x22 3/4 inches. 92x58 cm. U.S. Government Printing Office. Condition B+: restoration along vertical and horizontal folds; repaired tears at edges. Atherton was a graphic designer and a surrealist painter. He is best remembered for his poster promoting the 1939 New York World's Fair, and his award-winning "Buy a Share in America" poster from 1941. He went on to design many covers for The Saturday Evening Post, Fortune and Holiday. This image, with America's resources arrayed on a flag whose perspective leads the viewer's eye towards the rifle and military equipment in the foreground, is a gem of American mid-century design. For a Government publication, which by definition would have been produced in very large numbers, this poster is exceedingly rare.
