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Keep Calm and Carry On

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Keep Calm and Carry On poster (1939)

The Keep Calm and Carry On motivational poster was produced in 1939 during the beginning of World War II, and was a "last case scenario" to be used only should the Nazis succeed in invading Great Britain, in order to stiffen resolve. Two-and-a-half million copies were printed, although the poster was distributed only in limited numbers.[1] The designer of the poster is not known.

The poster was third in a series of three. The previous two posters from the series, "Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory" and "Freedom is in Peril" were issued and used across the country for motivational purposes.

In 2000, a copy of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster was rediscovered in Barter Books, a second-hand bookshop in Alnwick, Northumberland, and was reprinted. The poster has also been seen as an iconic symbol of the British public's resolve during the late-2000s recession.[2]

The poster has appeared on the walls of places as diverse as the prime minister's strategy unit at 10 Downing Street, the Lord Chamberlain's office at Buckingham Palace and the United States embassy in Belgium. The owners of Barter Books, Stuart and Mary Manley, had themselves sold some 41,000 facsimile posters between 2001 and 2009.[2] The poster has inspired ranges of clothing, mugs, doormats, baby clothes and other merchandise from various vendors,[2] plus a book[3] of motivational quotes.

The image is now in the public domain, as Crown Copyright has expired on artistic works created by the United Kingdom Government more than fifty years old.[4] The image has also appeared in Alan Moore And Kevin O'Neill's "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier" (America's Best Comics through Wildstorm, 2008) The image has been slightly altered with a chained portcullis device to appear as if it had been issued by INGSOC from George Orwell's novel, 1984.

References

  1. ^ The Greatest Motivational Poster Ever?, BBC News, 4 Feb 2009
  2. ^ a b c What Crisis? Keep Calm and Carry On: The Poster we Can't Stop Buying - The Guardian, 18 March 2009
  3. ^ Keep Calm and Carry On: Good Advice for Hard Times. London: Ebury Press. 2009. ISBN 978-0091933661.
  4. ^ Wikipedia-l HMSO Crown copyright FOIA Request
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