Darracott, J., Loftus, B. Second World War Posters London: HMSO, 1972 (Reprinted 1981)

A well illustrated work that accompanied an exhibition of war posters at the Imperial War Museum. It was edited by Joseph Darracott, the head of the Art Department at the IWM, with many illustrations prefaced by a short introductory piece. Each of the colour poster illustrations, most of which are British (a reflection of the holdings of the IWM, which contains some 20-30,000 British posters) are accompanied by biographical information about the artist, and contextual information about the situation in which the posters were produced.

“Posters are not designed to last, rather, they are intended to catch the mood of the moment and turn it to advantage. … As we look at war posters, we see our modern world reflected.” [p9]