Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Sulphuric Acid - Fire for the Enemy - Fertilizers for Food, 1939 UK poster: A factory explodes under a column of black smoke

Sulphuric Acid - Fire for the Enemy - Fertilizers for Food

A factory explodes under a column of black smoke headed 'Fire for the enemy'; below, wheat and a pack marked 'National Butter' sit under 'Fertilizers for food'. The tell is transfer: one product, sulphuric acid, is tied to both munitions and food, so support for its supply borrows the weight of the war effort. The poster states no sponsor.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
No issuer, printer or artist named on the item
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
Mixed
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Themes
Economy and finance, Home front
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
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
Issuer not stated, National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-408.

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

SULPHURIC ACID
FIRE
FOR THE ENEMY
FERTILIZERS FOR
FOOD
[on butter pack:] NATIONAL BUTTER

More propaganda examples that use the same techniques

Fragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouchesNew Kingdom EgyptFragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouches0000 · Card stacking, TransferClay cylinder with the Ehulhul inscription of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, describing work on three templesNeo Babylonian EmpireClay cylinder with the Ehulhul inscription of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, describing work on three temples0000 · TransferSeated limestone statue of Hatshepsut as king, with feminine royal titles on the throne, reassembled from fragments broken up at Deir el-BahriNew Kingdom EgyptSeated limestone statue of Hatshepsut as king, with feminine royal titles on the throne, reassembled from fragments broken up at Deir el-Bahri0000 · Transfer, TestimonialGlazed-brick panel with a striding lion, from Babylon (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)Neo Babylonian EmpireGlazed-brick panel with a striding lion, from Babylon (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)0000 · TransferLimestone relief block of Ramesses II wearing the White Crown, a jubilee relief from his temple at HerakleopolisNew Kingdom EgyptLimestone relief block of Ramesses II wearing the White Crown, a jubilee relief from his temple at Herakleopolis0000 · TransferLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of EgyptNew Kingdom EgyptLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of Egypt0000 · Card stacking, TransferContent noteGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal IINeo Assyrian EmpireGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal II0000 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesEgyptian alabaster jar inscribed with the name of Xerxes the Great in four languages (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Egyptian), 486 to 466 BCEAchaemenid EmpireEgyptian alabaster jar inscribed with the name of Xerxes the Great in four languages (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Egyptian), 486 to 466 BCE0000 · Transfer