Catalogue Number
NMLH.1994.168.351
Object Name
Poster
Title
Trade and the Empire. The Two Loaves
Date
1910
Description
Poster, in two sections, "Trade and the Empire. The Two Loaves", 1910
These two posters were designed to be seen together, where the title would read as above. On the first poster, a Free Trade loaf is on display in a shop window in front of three onlookers, with the man remarking that he cannot afford the loaf, having been unemployed "these three months". On the second poster, again, three figures stand in front of a shop window, which is displaying "Chamberlain's Loaf". The man is remarking that the loaf is no smaller than before, and that they can afford multiple if they wish.
Food prices were one of the issues at the heart of the Free Trade/Tariff Reform crisis in 1910. Cheaper food was one of the key arguments in favour of Free Trade, but supporters of Tariff Reform argued that Free Trade would increase unemployment and, therefore, decrease people's ability to afford even the cheaper food.
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