Snapshots of the Past

Keep mum Loose talk costs lives. – Vintage Poster

Keep mum Loose talk costs lives., 1941 — vintage poster
Keep mum Loose talk costs lives., 1941. Vintage poster from the WPA Posters collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Keep mum Loose talk costs lives. comes to life in this vintage poster, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Keep mum Loose talk costs lives.

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Keep mum" is a blunt, two-word order, and the line beneath it, "Loose talk costs lives," spells out the stakes. Printed in silkscreen color in 1941, the poster reflects the security concerns that spread across the United States as the war grew. Like many posters made under the Work Projects Administration's Federal Art Project, it relies on flat shapes and bold color to catch the eye of passersby, reminding ordinary civilians that casual conversation could hand useful information to enemy agents. A date stamp reading January 21, 1943, on the front shows the poster was still in use well after it was first made.

Created / published1941
Medium1 print on board (poster) : silkscreen color.
NotesDate stamped on recto: Jan 21 43. Work Projects Administration Poster Collection (Library of Congress). · Federal Art Project sponsor.
SubjectsWorld War 1939-1945--Communications.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Work Projects Administration Poster Collection
Original scan1,536 × 1,071 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
Reference913_Keep_mum_Loose_talk_cos_1941

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