Posters celebrating the effort of Britain and its allies in the Second World War have become familiar images in Western popular culture. But how was the war reported from the perspective of the other side?
20 January 2022
THE CHURCHILL OCTOPUS
c.1941, a Vichy France World War II propaganda poster
£4,000-5,000
Our Out of the Ordinary sale on 15-16 February includes a chromolithograph propaganda poster published in occupied Paris by the Vichy government in 1942.
Signed with a monogram of the artist ‘SPK’, it depicts Winston Churchill as an octopus with its tentacles representing British military intervention in the Middle East and Africa.
The text reads Confiance... Ses Amputations Se Poursuivent Methodiquement (Have Faith – The Systematic Amputations Are Continuing).
The desire was to spotlight the areas of conflict that existed between Vichy French forces and the British and the Free French. The cutting of these tentacles reflects the thwarting of British actions in Norway, Germany, Syria, Somalia, Libya, Mers el Kebir and Dakar by Axis forces.
This well known but rare image is guided at £4,000-5,000.
This remarkable survivor is featured as a highlight in our forthcoming Books, Manuscripts and Maps timed auction, running from Friday 24 April to Monday 4 May, offering collectors a rare opportunity to acquire an evocative piece of early Victorian court history.
12 March 2026
We are delighted to present The Selected Contents of Donnington Castle House, leading Day 2 of our Fine Interiors sale, on Wednesday 18 March.
12 March 2026
Occupying a charming apartment in one of London’s most sought-after postcodes, this collection - featured in our March Fine Interiors sale - embodies a highly personal and deeply considered vision of interior decoration.
12 March 2026