Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Please Don't Smoke in a Non-Smoking Car, 1939 UK poster: A cartoon of a man in a yellow coat smoking on a train bench, a 'No

Please Don't Smoke in a Non-Smoking Car

A cartoon of a man in a yellow coat smoking on a train bench, a 'No Smoking' roundel above him with eyes drawn over it, and the line 'Funny thing - I could have sworn someone was staring at me!!!'. A courtesy notice rather than war propaganda; the closest taxonomy fit is transfer, the Underground roundel given eyes so the sign itself appears to watch the smoker.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
London Underground (roundel on sheet); artist Fougasse (Cyril Kenneth Bird); printed by Fosh & Cross Ltd., London
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
Corporation
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Warn or inform
Themes
Health, Home front
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
Held by NARA, Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
Artist Fougasse (Cyril Kenneth Bird); printed by Fosh & Cross Ltd., London. National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-186.

Text on the object

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

Fougasse
NO SMOKING
"Funny thing - I could have sworn someone was staring at me!!!"
PLEASE DON'T SMOKE IN A NON-SMOKING CAR
[imprint:] FOSH & CROSS, LTD., LONDON

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