From Smitten by Britain: http://lnk.co/IE9Y9
For laughs only,
Friday, January 13, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
The story behind "Keep Calm and Carry On"
From my 2012 calendar:
Old Advice for a New World
In 1939, as Britain prepared to enter World War II, government ministers turned their attention to the task of bolstering national morale. Two posters designed for that purpose made it onto walls and windows across the country by the time war was officially declared. A third was also created, reserved for a moment of greater need. That poster, representing a full 65 percent of those printed, was to be used only in case the worst happened; it would go into circulation only if the Nazi army crossed the British Channel. With white type and a crown motif on a solid red background, it read "Keep Calm and Carry On."
The posters were never needed. Most of them, more than two million copies, were destroyed.
Then, in 2000, Stuart Manley, a bookstore owner in northern England, discovered a single specimen of the long-lost poster, folded neatly at the bottom of a box of used books. He had it framed and hung in his shop, where it immediately attracted attention from customers. The image-created by an unknown civil servant-was now in the public domain, so he was able to create reproductions. In the last decade, as the world has endured a different kind of trouble, the design has increased in visibility, status, and perhaps meaning. Its message of courage, perseverance, serenity, and resilience is one we can all use as we keep on carrying on every day.
Old Advice for a New World
In 1939, as Britain prepared to enter World War II, government ministers turned their attention to the task of bolstering national morale. Two posters designed for that purpose made it onto walls and windows across the country by the time war was officially declared. A third was also created, reserved for a moment of greater need. That poster, representing a full 65 percent of those printed, was to be used only in case the worst happened; it would go into circulation only if the Nazi army crossed the British Channel. With white type and a crown motif on a solid red background, it read "Keep Calm and Carry On."
The posters were never needed. Most of them, more than two million copies, were destroyed.
Then, in 2000, Stuart Manley, a bookstore owner in northern England, discovered a single specimen of the long-lost poster, folded neatly at the bottom of a box of used books. He had it framed and hung in his shop, where it immediately attracted attention from customers. The image-created by an unknown civil servant-was now in the public domain, so he was able to create reproductions. In the last decade, as the world has endured a different kind of trouble, the design has increased in visibility, status, and perhaps meaning. Its message of courage, perseverance, serenity, and resilience is one we can all use as we keep on carrying on every day.
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