WATCH OUT FOR FIRE. 1943.

44x31 inches.
Condition B+: repaired tears in top and bottom of image; restoration along vertical and horizontal folds.
A poster for the Civil Aeronautics Administration, published in conjunction with the Commerce Department, basically exhorting safety in the air. Unlike most war posters which would have been distributed in a vast quantity, this one was most likely limited to air fields, which explains, in part, why it is so infrequently seen. Quite a sophisticated image, it relays its message without the need of text. A large hand held up in the universally recognizable "stop" gesture, and three planes flying into clear skies away from bright flames that engulf half of the hand. The dynamic text adds to both the urgency and strength of the message.
ref: Edward McKnight Kauffer, by Mark Haworth Boot, Gordon Fraser, London, 1979, listed p. 134.