As part of a current work project, I've been spending lots of days at the Imperial War Museum recently. Considering how highly I regard the museum and its collection, I must say I'm feeling pretty chuffed about getting to work on it. It's been quite a challenge to not get distracted by the exhibits though... And the shop... But I've been pretty good, just buying a couple of postcards to add to the little collection of pictures which adorn my desk at work.
I'd already had this poster up for a while, long before starting on this current job:
Now I've added these two:
The one below wasn't available as a postcard or poster... So I have to confess I ended up buying a whole little book of British wartime posters in which it features. It never actually got used as a recruitment poster because it was considered to be too risque - the blonde bombshell, it was nicknamed - but ain't it just fab?
All that aside, one of the definite perks of my job is getting to climb onto the roofs of all sorts of buildings. Here's the view from the top of the museum, down into the central exhibition space... except I then realised you could get the same view from the top balcony inside the building, which is accessible to all visitors. Plus, I caught my own reflection in the glass. Oh well...
Thanks for posting this! I love both the good old IWM, and those classic Second World War posters.
ReplyDeleteOh I'm jealous that must be a marvellous place to work!! Love those posters, it seems hard to believe that the last one could once be thought to be too risqué, wow how the world has changed:)
ReplyDeleteThey are great posters. Curiously, I can't quite put my finger on why. I wonder what people thought at the time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the enthusiastic responses, ladies! They are lovely, aren't they? Susan Janet - as you say, I often wonder what people at the time thought, of such posters and ads, etc. Surely they didn't find them as quaint as we do but perhaps as aesthetically appealling? The advertisers and propagandists (if that's a word) must have been responding to some public trend?
ReplyDeleteWendy - it is lovely to work there! The permanent staff are lovely too. Shame it's just a short piece of work for me. If I'm lucky, there will be more for this Imperial War Museum site and perhaps even the others!