Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case Y, Shelf 70, Box D

Little scraps of information can add up to a whale of a lot.....and the net is wide! Keep Our Secrets Secret

Poster
1960 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Although Western democratic states largely withdrew from the production of explicitly graphic political propaganda after the Second World War ended in 1945, a small number of Cold War posters were produced. This British poster, for display in Government and military offices dealing with 'sensitive' material, reminded employees of the interest that Britain's enemies might have in 'Eastern Europe', 'NATO' and 'nuclear power' (all scraps of sentences reproduced on the fishes). While not explicitly anti-Soviet, it drew on the fear of infiltration and espionage that fuelled Cold War paranoia and East-West enmity.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLittle scraps of information can add up to a whale of a lot.....and the net is wide! Keep Our Secrets Secret (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Offset lithograph and colour lithograph on paper
Brief description
Government Cold War propaganda poster by Reginald Mount and Eileen Evans. UK, 1960. printed by Multi Machine Plates Ltd.
Physical description
portrait format poster printed in blue and black and white. Image of fishing net in black agains blue ground, angled to catch small white 'fish' depicted as fish shaped fragments of paper densely covered with text. Captioned at top left 'Little scraps.....net is wide!' and at bottom left 'Keep Our Secrets Secret.'
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 764mm
  • Sheet width: 508mm
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mount/Evans (Signature; bottom corner of right margin; Offset lithography)
  • Issued by HM Government etc. Printed for her Majesty's Stationery Office (Distributor's identification; Offset lithography)
Credit line
Given by Eileen Evans
Production
Poster issued by the Central Office of Information

Attribution note: Issued by the Central Office of Information
Reason For Production: Commission
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
Although Western democratic states largely withdrew from the production of explicitly graphic political propaganda after the Second World War ended in 1945, a small number of Cold War posters were produced. This British poster, for display in Government and military offices dealing with 'sensitive' material, reminded employees of the interest that Britain's enemies might have in 'Eastern Europe', 'NATO' and 'nuclear power' (all scraps of sentences reproduced on the fishes). While not explicitly anti-Soviet, it drew on the fear of infiltration and espionage that fuelled Cold War paranoia and East-West enmity.
Bibliographic reference
Taken from R.P. 95/580
Collection
Accession number
E.450-1995

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Record createdMarch 4, 2003
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