Don't travel unless essential. (undated, c. 1942-1945, OWI)
Undated: NARA gives no date; c. 1942-1945 from the OWI series. A man tumbles down past building windows while a figure at a lower window holds a sign reading 'Don't Travel Unless Essential' and points at him. The tell is a humorous warning: a comic fall stands in for the consequence of ignoring wartime travel restraint.
Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Office of War Information (cartoon artwork; artist Otto Soglow)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Cartoon
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Home front, Economy and finance
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 208, Cartoons Promoting the War Effort (NAID 535594), retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 208, 208-COM-1135 (NAID 535702).
Text on the object
DON'T TRAVEL UNLESS ESSENTIAL O. SOGLOW FOR OWI
