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

 

The Glass Sale | A Medium of Light, Form and Infinite Expression

We are thrilled to launch The Glass Sale - a brand-new addition to our auction calendar! The inaugural sale will take place on Tuesday 28 October and will become a biannual fixture in our calendar going forward.

20 June 2025

Honouring the Arts

We are proud to announce our collaboration with Britten Pears Arts, a pioneering music, arts, and heritage charity based on the Suffolk Coast. Custodians of two iconic and historic sites – Snape Maltings and The Red House – Britten Pears Arts has been a cultural cornerstone since 1948. 

19 June 2025

Eric Ravilious | A Master of Wedgwood Ceramics

An impressive single-owner collection of Eric Ravilious ceramics will star as one of the standout sections in our upcoming 8 July Design sale.

19 June 2025

 


 

Get Sworders News