Catalogue Number
NMLH.2023.77.6
Object Name
Poster
Title
In the 1800's Britain became known as the 'workshop of the world'
Date
1972-1982
Description
The Poster Collective was a collective formed in 1971 at the Slade School of Art,  a group formed to initially produce posters in response to the miners strike and on the wars in both Vietnam and Ireland. It was formed on the basis of developing a coherent visual style, which addressed the political issues of the time. This included the armed struggles against colonialism in Africa, the struggle of women for equal rights and the continuing struggle against racism. The collective was active in the 70's and 80's, producing posters on a wide range of issues, including for educational purposes. The group was not-for-profit and used a variety of hand-printing techniques to create their posters. This poster is part of a set, "Whose World is the World?", comprising of twelve that were created for schools. The set depicts a different view of history and puts forward ways of understanding the basis for the development of Western economic power over the last 400 years. It was produced in
1979. This poster is the sixth in the series; it is red and yellow with black text and black and white photographs depicting overcrowded factories next to rich people eating meals. The text reads "IN THE 1800'S BRITAIN BECAME KNOWN AS THE 'WORKSHOP OF THE WORLD' / THE SLAVES GREW AND PICKED THE COTTON ON NEW PLANTATIONS IN THE SOUTH OF THE UNITED STATES. IT WAS SENT TO ENGLAND WHERE THE WORKERS IN THE COTTON MILLS MADE IT INTO CLOTH. THE BOSSES MADE HUGE PROFITS FROM THE LABOUR OF THE SLAVES AND WORKERS. / THE GROWING WEALTH OF THE BRITISH BOSSES DEPENDED ON THE SUPPLY OF AMERICAN COTTON. / FOR OVER 30 YEARS COTTON GOODS MADE UP ALMOST HALF OF ALL BRITISH EXPORTS. / WORKERS PROTEST SONG OF THE TIME: The working people such as we, Pass their time in minsery, While they live in luxury-, The Cotton Lords of Preston., They're making money every way, And building more factories every day., Yet when we ask for more pay, They have the impudence to say:, 'To your demands we'll not consent-,
You get enough, so be content-, But we will have the ten percent, From the Cotton Lords of Preston. / In the mills more than half the workers were women and children. Thy worked up to 14 hours a day and were paid starvation wages." In the bottom right hand corner of the poster a young child in rags is saying "Our bosses support the Southern slave owners. But we want to see the slaves set free. So we support the North." This poster was printed by Gaffyne & Brown Ltd. and says it was "designed by the poster film collective and distributed by the institute of race relations.
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