An enemy ear may be near - Stop all loose talk to strangers!
A very large black brush-drawn ear fills the upper sheet, above the red headline 'an enemy ear may be near' and the blue instruction to stop all loose talk to strangers. The oversized ear stands for unseen listeners, a fear-appeal for civilians about careless speech. A line at the foot says the poster is published by the House of Seagram as part of its contribution to the national victory effort.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- House of Seagram (Seagram-Distillers Corp., N.Y.C.); Essargee (artist)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Corporation
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- Home front, Security and surveillance
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
House of Seagram (Seagram-Distillers Corp., N.Y.C.). National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-393 (NAID 513844).
Text on the object
an enemy ear may be near- Stop all loose talk to STRANGERS ! THIS POSTER IS PUBLISHED BY THE HOUSE OF SEAGRAM AS PART OF ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATIONAL VICTORY EFFORT SEAGRAM-DISTILLERS CORP., N.Y.C. [signature: Essargee]
