Eye Magazine

During the Second World War, the civilian population was regularly exhorted by the British Government to lead what would now be called an ecologically sound lifestyle. Ministry of Food posters such as Henrion’s (1939-45) – shown in exhibition “Green Images” at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 5 February to 25 May 1992 – were edicts of necessity and common sense published at a time when vegetables were a cheap and readily available supplement to rationed items like meat. The tone of cheerful command continued to post-war anti-litter campaigns produced by the Central Office of Information. Designers such as Henrion and Reginald Mount (1952) created clear, authoritative and often witty images which fostered a sense of national pride.

First published in Eye no. 6 vol. 2, 1992