FREDERIC HENRI KAY HENRION (1914-1990) OFF THE RATION. 1951.

25x20 inches. Fosh & Cross Ltd., London.
Condition B+: light vertical and horizontal folds; creases at edges. Paper.
Born in Germany, Henrion went to Paris to study with Paul Colin and there discovered the works of Cassandre as well as the Surrealists, which gave him a taste for collage and photomontage. He moved to London in 1939 and quickly grew to be a prominent graphic designer. During WWII he used his talents as a poster designer to support both the British and American war effort. He founded his own studio in 1951 and began working for clients such as British Leyland, KLM, and the London Electricity Board. Highly respected by his peers, Henrion was president of the AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale) and a teacher at the Royal College of Art and the London College of Printing. Life was not easy in post-war Britain, and the necessity for food stamps and rationing remained for a few years. For this Off The Ration food show, Henrion decided to treat the subject with humor, creating a funny montage and organizing the typography in a criss-cross pattern to illustrate the "crossing out" of the ration.