Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Better a Live Cluck than a Dead Duck
Artifact IDMO 2005.13.21.69
Object Type
Poster
Artist
Whitney Darrow Jr.
(American cartoonist, 1909 - 1999)
Maker
U.S. Government Printing Office
(American, founded 1861)
Date1943
Mediumpaper, ink
Dimensionsoverall H 22 in x W 14 in (55.9 cm x 35.6 cm )
Physical DescriptionA poster promoting wartime discretion. On a white background, highlighted by a red band at the top and bottom, is a grayscale cartoon-like illustration of two women attending a wartime benefit dance. They are chatting while they wait for two uniformed soldiers who are retrieving their items from a nearby coat check window. One of the women states, “The one I'm with is certainly a cluck. He don't know where he's been, or where he's going, or anything." Couples are seen dancing in a doorway beyond the coat check room. The artist’s facsimile signature is in the lower right corner of the illustration: Whitney Darrow Jr. Below the illustration is text with a message that reads: Better a live cluck than a dead duck / . . . SILENCE MEANS SECURITY. . .
The use of the illustration is courtesy of The New Yorker magazine and the artist. Printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office : 1943-O-505182.
Additional DetailsThe use of the illustration is courtesy of The New Yorker magazine and the artist. Printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office : 1943-O-505182.
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.In Collection(s)
Not on view