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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
The Sound That Kills
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

The Sound That Kills

Artifact IDMO 2005.13.21.11.1
Object Type Poster
Artist (American cartoonist, 1914 - 1959)
Maker (American, founded 1861)
Issuing Body (American, 1942 - 1945)
Issuing Body (American, 1942 - 1945)
Date1942
Mediumpaper, ink
Dimensionsoverall H 20 in x W 14 in (50.8 cm x 35.6 cm )
Physical DescriptionA color poster featuring a six-panel cartoon that starts with the title in the first panel, "THE SOUND / THAT KILLS.” The panels - five of which have illustrated scenes - show the progression of how the sound of spoken information, started through careless talk by a worker eating in a diner, gets quickly transmitted from one source to another, resulting in the destruction of a ship called the EXETER by a German U-boat. The artist's facsimile signature is in the upper right corner of panel no. 6: Ericson. Bold red wording across the bottom of the poster reads: DON'T MURDER MEN WITH IDLE WORDS.

Small text along the bottom edge of the poster reads: For additional copies write to Graphics Division, Office of War Information, Washington, D. C.; Specify OWI No.1 / U. S. Government Printing Office : 1942-O-469306.
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 StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view