WWII Poster (5), 'Please Pass Aong the Platform,' British Second World War poster depicts a crowded platform, and a mass of people blocking the platform's entrance as they have failed to use the several exit passages available for use. The text points out 'the more we are together, the more uncomfortable we'll be - PLEASE pass along the platform.' This one of a series of posters by Cyril Kenneth Bird (1887-1965) that focus on public manners and social customs. Bird, who was a Punch cartoonist, took on the 'Fougasse' pseudonym in the First World War, after the French term for a small land mine 'which might or might not hit the mark.' His approach to the propaganda poster was based on overcoming three obstacles. He wrote: 'Firstly, a general aversion to reading any notice of any sort; secondly, a general disinclination to believe that any notice, even if it was read, can possibly be addressed to oneself; thirdly, a general unwillingness even so to remember the message long enough to do anything about it;' 'Please Let Passengers off the Car First,' depicts a man with a suitcase, who in his rush to board a train, knocks over another passenger. The image is surrounded with a simple red border, and the simple layout has the effect of delivering the message in an amusing but clear fashion. British Second World War poster.
Photolithograph on Paper (1) Offset Lithograph on Paper (4)
63x50.5cm each (overall)

Provenance: Australian War Memorial, Canberra (deaccession).
Estimate $500-1,000