EDWARD MCKNIGHT KAUFFER (1890-1954) KEEP IT UNDER YOUR STETSON.

39x29 1/4 inches. John B. Stetson & Co.
Condition B+: repaired tears in margins; restoration and creases in image.
In 1940 McKnight Kauffer moved to America and began working. Surprisingly very little has been written recently on Kauffer's American period. In fact of the four images which we are offering here three have been reproduced in only one obscure place: a promotional brochure Design and Paper no. 29, published by Marquardt & Company circa 1950, dedicated to the poster art of McKnight Kauffer! Needless to say these posters are all extremely rare. Thanks to a proliferation of posters, "keep it under your Stetson" became as common a catch-phrase during World War II as "loose lips sink ships", the only difference being the former was not only a patriotic command, but also a marketing ploy. Using a photograph of a hat (it is, after all, a hat poster first and foremost!) Kauffer depicts a man in profile staring at a distant factory, the inner workings of his brain are displayed like blue-prints. The dark shadows around the edge of the frame add intensity and drama to the image.
ref: Design and Paper no. 29, Marquardt & Co., New York, nd.