No pandering to snowflakes here! Motivational posters from the 1920s that taught workers to pull their socks up with advice including ‘quitters never win’ go up for auction
- The 22 posters were produced by the Parker-Holladay company to encourage good behaviour at work
- The colourful ‘productivity at work’ posters were placed in factories and offices across Britain in the 1920s
- They were so successful that they were used in America and Canada and are now on sale for £3,000
A fascinating collection of 1920s ‘life-coaching’ posters which were designed to encourage good behaviour in the workplace have come to light.
They were produced by the now-defunct print company Parker-Holladay who created the well-dressed character Bill Jones to dispense pearls of wisdom and have emerged for sale for £3,000 with Ewbank’s Auctions, of Woking, Surrey.
The ‘productivity at work’ posters were placed in factories and offices across Britain and carried messages about self-control and avoiding confrontation. They were so successful that they were used in America and Canada.
A fascinating collection of 1920s ‘life-coaching’ posters (pictured left and right) which were designed to encourage good behaviour in the workplace have come to light
The posters (pictured above, is one from the collection) were produced by the Parker-Holladay company who created the well-dressed character Bill Jones to dispense pearls of wisdom
But while they were popular in their day, the striking posters fell from favour following the Wall Street Crash and the ensuing Great Depression of 1929.
One of the posters shows a boxing match with the caption ‘a winner never quits, a quitter never wins’, while another depicts a young lady playing tennis and explains the benefits of keeping fit, stating that ‘health is priceless, it pays to keep it’.
There is a racially insensitive poster appearing to show an aboriginal man being hit by his own boomerang with the advice ‘mistakes cost money – covering them up costs more’.
Mr Jones can be seen dressed as a conductor helping an elderly man up some steps, with the message ‘courtesy costs nothing but the effect’.
The set of 22 vibrant posters (pictured left to right) have emerged for sale for £3,000 with Ewbank’s Auctions, of Woking, Surrey
One of the posters shows a boxing match with the caption ‘a winner never quits, a quitter never wins’, while another depicts a young lady playing tennis and explains the benefits of keeping fit, stating that ‘health is priceless, it pays to keep it’ (pictured left)
Other posters in the collection promote harmony and punctuality (pictured left), while railing against waste and the excuse culture (pictured centre)
‘Encourage your mates to shoulder their bit’ urges one poster, pictured left, and another, pictured right, warns staff to discourage waste
A greyhound race with two dogs fighting each other while their competitors race ahead demonstrates that ‘disputes get you nowhere’.
Other posters in the collection promote harmony and punctuality, while railing against waste and the excuse culture.
Ewbank’s partner and specialist Alastair McCrea said: ‘Colour, action, strong graphic quality and fabulous retro appeal from the clothing and haircuts of those depicted come together to make these sizeable posters very popular.’
The set of 22 posters, which belong to a collector, are on sale on January 21.
One of the posters encourage workers to switch off lights before leaving, pictured left, while a second, pictured right, suggests ‘added responsibility means great opportunity’
‘Teamwork means goals!’ another poster is captioned, while showing a game of football (pictured left), as another (pictured centre) says: ‘Working together gets it done quicker and better’
‘When it’s risky find another way’, insists one poster (pictured left), while another (pictured right) says: ‘False rumours, like snowballs, gather force as they go, don’t believe all you hear’
Ewbank’s partner and specialist Alastair McCrea said: ‘Colour, action, strong graphic quality and fabulous retro appeal from the clothing and haircuts of those depicted come together to make these sizeable posters (pictured) very popular.’
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