Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
National Book Recovery and Salvage Appeal: Take your unwanted Books to the Receiving Depot, 1939 UK poster: A narrow banner

National Book Recovery and Salvage Appeal: Take your unwanted Books to the Receiving Depot

A narrow banner poster shows a uniformed serviceman sitting on stacks of books, reading, beside a headline in white on blue. The soldier figure attaches the armed forces to the donation of books, while the text gives the plain instruction to take unwanted books to a receiving depot.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
Ministry of Supply, Salvage and Recovery (HM Stationery Office); printed by W. R. Royle & Son Ltd., London
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
Home front, War and the military
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
Leader
Winston Churchill
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 Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (UK Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired before 1996; no URAA restoration)
Ministry of Supply and HM Stationery Office, printed by W. R. Royle & Son Ltd., c. 1939-1945. US National Archives (NAID 44266799, 44-PF-292).

Text on the object

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

NATIONAL BOOK RECOVERY
AND SALVAGE APPEAL
Take your unwanted Books to the Receiving Depot

PRINTED FOR H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE BY W. R. ROYLE & SON LTD., LONDON, E.C.4. 51-3118
M.O.S. S&R 103

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