Skip to main content
Menu Collections
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Less Dangerous Than Careless Talk
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Less Dangerous Than Careless Talk

Object numberMO 2005.13.21.17.3
Name Poster
Artist (American illustrator, 1904 - 1965)
Maker (American, founded 1861)
Issuing Body (American, 1942 - 1945)
Date1944
Mediumpaper, ink
Dimensionsoverall H 40 in x W 28 1/2 in (101.6 cm x 72.4 cm )
DescriptionA color poster promoting wartime discretion. On a cream-colored background is a large illustration of a coiled rattlesnake, poised to strike, with blood dripping from its mouth. Black text running above and below the illustration reads: LESS DANGEROUS / THAN CARELESS TALK / DON’T DISCUSS TROOP MOVEMENTS • SHIP SALINGS • WAR EQUIPMENT. The artist's facsimile signature is below the right side of the snake: ALBERT DORNE.

The poster was printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office, poster no. 1944-O-603532. Distributed for the Issuing Agencies by the Office of War Information.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDonated to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by the Adriance Memorial Library.
Credit LineGift of the Adriance Memorial Library
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesOriginal Posters from World War I and World War II (National Archives Identifier 739394)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
Collections
Non exposé