Keep Calm and Carry On
Encyclopedia
Keep Calm and Carry On was a poster produced by the British government in 1939 during the beginning of the Second World War, intended to raise the morale of the British public in the event of invasion. Seeing only limited distribution, it was little known. The poster was rediscovered in 2000 and has been re-issued by a number of private sector companies, and used as the decorative theme for a range of other products. There are only two known surviving examples of the poster outside government archives.
The poster was third in a series of three. The previous two posters from the series, "Freedom Is In Peril. Defend It With All Your Might" (400,000 printed) and "Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory" (800,000 printed) and were issued and used across the country for motivational purposes, as the Ministry of Information assumed that the events of the first weeks of the war would demoralise the population. Planning for the posters started in April 1939; by June designs were prepared, and by August 1939, they were on their way to the printers, to be placed up within 24 hours of the outbreak of war. The posters were designed to have a uniform device, be a design associated with the Ministry of Information, and have a unique and recognisable lettering, with a message from the King to his people. The slogans were created by civil servants, with a career civil servant, Waterfield, coming up with "Your Courage" as "a rallying war-cry that will bring out the best in everyone of us and put us in an offensive mood at once". These particular posters were designed as "a statement of the duty of the individual citizen", un-pictorial, to be accompanied by more colloquial designs. The "Your Courage" poster was much more famous during the war, as it was the first to go up, very large, and was the first of the Ministry of Information's posters.
The press, fearful of censorship, created a backlash, and thus a lot of material related to these posters has been kept by archives.
, a second-hand
bookshop in Alnwick
, Northumberland. Since Crown Copyright
expires on artistic works created by the UK government after 50 years, the image is now in the public domain
. The store's owners, Stuart and Mary Manley, were thus able to reprint copies at customers' requests, as did others, inside and outside Britain. It has inspired ranges of clothing, mugs, doormats, baby clothes and other merchandise from various vendors, as well as a book of motivational quotations. Parodies of the poster, with similar type but changing the phrase or the logo (for example, an upside-down crown with "Now Panic and Freak Out"), have also been sold.
The poster's popularity has been attributed to a "nostalgia for a certain British character, an outlook" according to the Bagehot column in The Economist
, that it "taps directly into the country's mythic image of itself: unshowily brave and just a little stiff, brewing tea as the bombs fall." Its message has also been felt relevant to the late-2000s recession and has been adopted as an unofficial motto by British nurses, the poster appearing in staff rooms on hospital wards with increasing frequency throughout the 2000s. Merchandise with the image has been ordered in bulk by American financial firms, advertising agencies, and Germans.
The poster has appeared on the walls of places as diverse as the prime minister's strategy unit at 10 Downing Street
, the Lord Chamberlain
's office at Buckingham Palace
, and the United States embassy in Belgium
. The Manleys sold some 41,000 facsimile posters between 2001 and 2009.
The poster and its parodies have appeared in almost every channel open to graphic design and graphical parody, ranging from the political messages to cute slogans. Many versions of it reference other aspects of popular culture, from the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
to the Mario videogames
, with altered text, colours and iconography.
and issued a take-down request against a seller of Keep Calm and Carry On products. Questions have been raised whether the registration could be challenged as the slogan had been widely used before registration and is not recognisable as indicating trade origin. An application has been submitted to cancel the trademark on the grounds that the words are too widely used for one person to own the exclusive rights. The company is now trying to trademark globally in the United States and Canada .
History
The poster was initially produced by the Ministry of Information, in 1939, at the beginning of the Second World War. It was intended to be distributed in order to strengthen morale in the event of a wartime disaster. 2,500,000 copies were printed, although the poster was distributed only in limited numbers. The designer of the poster is not known.The poster was third in a series of three. The previous two posters from the series, "Freedom Is In Peril. Defend It With All Your Might" (400,000 printed) and "Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory" (800,000 printed) and were issued and used across the country for motivational purposes, as the Ministry of Information assumed that the events of the first weeks of the war would demoralise the population. Planning for the posters started in April 1939; by June designs were prepared, and by August 1939, they were on their way to the printers, to be placed up within 24 hours of the outbreak of war. The posters were designed to have a uniform device, be a design associated with the Ministry of Information, and have a unique and recognisable lettering, with a message from the King to his people. The slogans were created by civil servants, with a career civil servant, Waterfield, coming up with "Your Courage" as "a rallying war-cry that will bring out the best in everyone of us and put us in an offensive mood at once". These particular posters were designed as "a statement of the duty of the individual citizen", un-pictorial, to be accompanied by more colloquial designs. The "Your Courage" poster was much more famous during the war, as it was the first to go up, very large, and was the first of the Ministry of Information's posters.
The press, fearful of censorship, created a backlash, and thus a lot of material related to these posters has been kept by archives.
Rediscovery and commercialisation
In 2000, a copy of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster was rediscovered in Barter BooksBarter Books
Barter Books is a second-hand bookshop located in the historic English market town of Alnwick, Northumberland owned and run by Stuart and Mary Manley. It has over 200,000 visitors a year, 40% of whom are from outside the area, and is one of the largest second-hand bookstores in Europe...
, a second-hand
Second-Hand
Second-Hand was a 2005 Romanian film directed by Dan Piţa.-Plot summary:The film's plot surrounds the romantic involvement of two contrasting characters: Petre , a Mafioso, and Andreea , a young violin player. The pair meet and fall in love...
bookshop in Alnwick
Alnwick
Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029....
, Northumberland. Since Crown Copyright
Crown copyright
Crown copyright is a form of copyright claim used by the governments of a number of Commonwealth realms. It provides special copyright rules for the Crown .- Australia :...
expires on artistic works created by the UK government after 50 years, the image is now in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
. The store's owners, Stuart and Mary Manley, were thus able to reprint copies at customers' requests, as did others, inside and outside Britain. It has inspired ranges of clothing, mugs, doormats, baby clothes and other merchandise from various vendors, as well as a book of motivational quotations. Parodies of the poster, with similar type but changing the phrase or the logo (for example, an upside-down crown with "Now Panic and Freak Out"), have also been sold.
The poster's popularity has been attributed to a "nostalgia for a certain British character, an outlook" according to the Bagehot column in The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, that it "taps directly into the country's mythic image of itself: unshowily brave and just a little stiff, brewing tea as the bombs fall." Its message has also been felt relevant to the late-2000s recession and has been adopted as an unofficial motto by British nurses, the poster appearing in staff rooms on hospital wards with increasing frequency throughout the 2000s. Merchandise with the image has been ordered in bulk by American financial firms, advertising agencies, and Germans.
The poster has appeared on the walls of places as diverse as the prime minister's strategy unit at 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
, the Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
's office at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, and the United States embassy in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. The Manleys sold some 41,000 facsimile posters between 2001 and 2009.
The poster and its parodies have appeared in almost every channel open to graphic design and graphical parody, ranging from the political messages to cute slogans. Many versions of it reference other aspects of popular culture, from the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Prince William, the eldest son of Charles, Prince of Wales, first met Catherine Middleton in 2001, when both were studying at the University of St Andrews. Their...
to the Mario videogames
Mario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
, with altered text, colours and iconography.
Trademark claims
In August 2011 it was reported that a UK based company Keep Calm and Carry On Ltd had registered the slogan as a Community trade markCommunity Trade Mark
A Community M application in any member state can defeat the entire application, a CTM registration is enforceable in all member states.The CTM system is administered by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market , which is located in Alicante, Spain .- Character and advantages :The...
and issued a take-down request against a seller of Keep Calm and Carry On products. Questions have been raised whether the registration could be challenged as the slogan had been widely used before registration and is not recognisable as indicating trade origin. An application has been submitted to cancel the trademark on the grounds that the words are too widely used for one person to own the exclusive rights. The company is now trying to trademark globally in the United States and Canada .
External links
- Photographs displaying examples of the poster's popularity, as printed in The Guardian
- Serenity now : World War II-era Keep Calm and Carry On posters, currently enjoying a comeback? , as printed in The Globe and Mail March 2009
- Photo of the original poster on the Barter Books website
- First person: 'I am the Keep Calm and Carry On man'
- Dr Bex Lewis, Original history of the poster, and blog tracing its 21st Century renaissance