John Bull Dips Deep into His Pocket! Indirect Taxation in Great Britain
A grid of seven drawn goods (whisky, tobacco, sugar, tea, matches, beer, cigarettes) shades the share of retail price taken by duty, with retail price and duty printed under each. Largely informational; the nearest technique is card stacking, since the tell is a selection of heavily taxed goods under the personified 'John Bull' and no other taxes or income figures for comparison.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1939
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Issuer not named on the sheet; printed in London by Chromoworks Ltd. (G.P.G./AM series), as a British wartime information sheet
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Churchill Government
- Leader
- Winston Churchill
- Audience
- Foreign public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- Home front, Economy and finance
- Event
- World War II
- Leader
- Winston Churchill
- Source
- Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Held by NARA, Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision (printed in England 1939-1945; issuer not stated on the sheet)
Chromoworks Ltd., London (printer), National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-348c.
Text on the object
JOHN BULL DIPS DEEP INTO HIS POCKET! INDIRECT TAXATION IN GREAT BRITAIN TAX Black areas indicate amount of duty included in cost of article WHISKY Retail Price 23s 0d Duty 16s 0½d TOBACCO Retail Price 1s 10d Duty 1s 5d SUGAR Retail Price 3d Duty 2¼d TEA Retail Price 2s 6d Duty 6¼d MATCHES Retail Price 1½d Duty 0·7d BEER Retail Price 11d Duty 6½d CIGARETTES Retail Price 2s 0d Duty 1s 5d [stamp:] INCLOSURE 7 TO REPORT No. 52225 MILITARY ATTACHE, LONDON. G.P.G./AM./1 [imprint:] PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY CHROMOWORKS LTD., LONDON 51-2968
