What is Wanted from You
A cream sheet is laid out as a list of worn household textiles, from jumpers and towels to curtains and a clothes line, each beside a small red, blue and black drawing. The poster states no reason and no threat; its only persuasive device is the plain-folks tell of everyday domestic objects presented as the contribution asked of every household.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1939
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- H.M. Stationery Office (British government); printer Multi Machine Plates 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, Economy and finance
- Event
- World War II
- 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)
H.M. Stationery Office (British government), Great Britain, 1939-1945. U.S. National Archives, Record Group 44.
Text on the object
What is Wanted from You- WORN OUT JUMPERS SHIRTS TOWELS STOCKINGS GLOVES DISH CLOTHS UNDERWEAR DRESSING GOWNS SUITS & OVERCOATS LACE & NET CURTAINS CAPS & BERETS BABY CLOTHES PAINTER'S COATS KNAPSACKS PILLOW SLIPS DECK CHAIR SEATING DUST SHEETS CLOTHES LINE, ETC., ETC., PRINTED FOR H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE BY MULTI MACHINE PLATES LTD. LONDON E.C.4. 51-[illegible]
