Rare Poster Shows How Vichy France Viewed the British War Effort

Rare Poster Shows How Vichy France Viewed the British War Effort

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.

 

 


 

Recent News

 

Love in Every Detail

Sworders are delighted to present a Victorian emerald and diamond crowned heart ring in our next Jewellery sale, taking place on Wednesday 26 February.

13 February 2025

The Bill Wrather Collection of Automobilia

Featuring in our 4 March auction 'Better by Design | The Principal Contents of Boden Hall', join us as we explore The Bill Wrather Collection of Automobilia.

5 February 2025

Harold Harvey (1874-1941)

Ahead of our 4 March 'Better by Design - The Principal Contents of Boden Hall' auction, Professor Kenneth McConkey explores Harold Harvey (1874-1941). 

4 February 2025

 


 

Get Sworders News