Satirical and Propaganda Maps of the First World War
At: MENIER GALLERY – 51 SOUTHWARK STREET, LONDON SE1 1RU
Wednesday 26th to Saturday 29th November 2014
After 25 years in business as an antique map dealer and in this important Centenary Year commemorating the outbreak of the First World War we were delighted to present a unique selling Exhibition of Satirical Maps and Propaganda Maps of the First World War, The Dogs of War Unleashed. The Exhibition was held on London’s South Bank at the Menier Gallery, 51 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU, between Wednesday November 26th & Saturday November 29th 2014.
Walter Trier Karte von Europa im Jahre 1914 [1914-15]
“The Dogs of War are loose in Europe, and a nice noise they are making…”, so begins the humorous descriptive “Note” by popular Punch columnist and dog-loving author, Walter Emanuel [1869-1915] that accompanies the late 1914 Johnson Riddle & Co serio-comic cartoon map of the European War entitled “Hark! Hark! The Dogs do bark!”.
Johnson Riddle & Co Hark !Hark ! The Dogs do Bark ! With Note by Walter Emanuel [1914]
Belying the actual realities of the military situation on the Continent at the time, Emanuel’s map depicts the European combatants in stereotypical canine guise, including the sturdy British bulldog, the dandified French poodle, and the pickelhaubed German dachshund, its nose caught in the vice-like jaws of the advancing British bulldog. In the East, the Russian Tsar sits at the wheel of a massive Russian steamroller with Russian bears & cossack cavalrymen in close attendance, the war machine advancing erratically at great speed, crushing all in its path.
It was a remarkable chance coincidence to discover that it was exactly 100 years ago to the month since Emanuel’s wonderful map had first rolled off the presses of the South London printers, Johnson Riddle & Co, in November 1914. Originally offered for sale for a price of 1 shilling, it was published and sold through the well-known London book and map sellers, G W Bacon & Co, of 127 Strand. By another strange twist of coincidences, the original 1914 Printing Works of Johnson Riddle & Co were to be found just a stone’s throw from the Menier Gallery, at No.32 Southwark Bridge Road, at its juncture with Sumner Street.
It seemed all the more fitting to hold this Exhibition on such a well-timed Centenary and in such an appropriate location.
André Huguenin-Dumittan Théâtre de la Guerre Européenne [1915]
The Exhibition showcased one of the finest selections of comic and satirical maps of the 1914-18 period to have been offered for sale in recent years, as well as numerous wartime map-related propaganda posters
Maurice Neumont La Guerre est l’Industrie Nationale de la Prusse [1917-18]
Also included were many map postcards & paper ephemera as well as wartime games & puzzles:
Zig-Zag Puzzle Co The World’s Boxing Championship [c.1914-15]
Many duplicate examples of items that were exhibited are now available for sale in current inventory.
Please do take a look!