
The latest example of this much-imitated 1939 design was offered at Swann Auction Galleries (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) of New York on August 2.
Although virtually identical in graphic terms, a number of sizes exist (a surviving order form from His Majesty’s Stationery Office shows that the poster was printed in 12 different sizes overall).
This 1939 Swann poster was a 2ft 6in x 20in (76 x 51cm) example of which 496,500 were printed (but never issued).
With minor creases at edges and across the image, it sold on the phone to a collector for a low-estimate hammer price of $12,000 (£9090).
Another example of the same size in an Onslows December 2015 auction made £15,000.