![]() Undoubtedly the most poignant of any wartime poster in British history, it has recently also become one of the most iconic motivational themes of all time and is consequently increasingly sought after. They remain incredibly rare with under forty known examples in the world. There were believed to be only two survivors until a stash of fifteen appeared on the BBC Antiques Roadshow in 2012 and six more appeared from another significant estate find of a hoard of wartime posters in 2014. It was almost completely forgotten until one was rediscovered in 2000 by the owner of a bookshop, whereupon the design became the centre of a worldwide marketing phenomenon, appearing on everything from mugs to T-shirts. ![]() It has spread further by being remixed and memeified: Keep Calm And Drink Tea, Now Panic And Freak Out, Change Words And Be. Thankfully this never happened and, like all paper in the 1940's, stocks were taken from storage, pulped and recycled in the austerity years after the war. Stuart Manley, who ran a bookstore with his wife called Barter Books, was sorting a box he had bought at an auction in 2000 when he came across an original Keep Calm and Carry On poster. The original Keep Calm survivor at Barter Books, Alnwick. This design was printed in secret and intended for distribution only if the Germans landed on British soil. This is a very rare and important piece of British history, printed in 1939 when the threat of invasion by the all conquering Nazis was a very real possibility.
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