Original WWII Home Front Worker Safety Poster Art Cigarette Stub Incendiary Fire

Original WWII Home Front Safety Poster "A Cigarette Stub..." Elliott Service Co

Item Description

An authentic original vintage World War II industrial safety and home-front propaganda poster published by the Elliott Service Co., Inc., New York. Measuring approximately 17” x 22”, this striking piece features bold, high-contrast graphics depicting falling incendiary bombs juxtaposed with a smoldering cigarette stub, carrying the powerful message: "A cigarette stub can do as much damage as any incendiary bomb. Obey that NO SMOKING Rule!"

This poster was distributed for display in factories, shipyards, and workplaces to encourage vigilance and prevent accidental industrial fires that could disrupt the vital wartime manufacturing output. Marked with code T 617 in the lower corner and the publisher imprint at the bottom margin. A fantastic historical artifact for collectors of World War II memorabilia, vintage propaganda, or mid-century graphic design.

Maker Bio: Elliott Service Co.

Founded in New York City, the Elliott Service Co., Inc. was a prominent publisher of workplace display materials, management information systems, and visual safety campaigns. During World War II, the company partnered closely with government initiatives and industrial boards to produce striking, hard-hitting posters focused on worker efficiency, accident prevention, security, and the critical reduction of industrial waste and sabotage hazards on the American home front.

Historic Information & Interesting Facts

The Home Front War on Fire: During WWII, industrial sabotage and accidental fires were treated as severe national security threats. Domestic factories working around the clock to build tanks, planes, and munitions could be crippled just as easily by carelessness as by enemy action.

Psychological Warfare at Home: Campaigns equating everyday carelessness—such as improperly discarding a cigarette or match—to enemy attacks were widespread. Posters framed careless workers as unintentional allies to the Axis powers, driving home the gravity of industrial safety rules.

Scarcity and Ephemera: Because these posters were meant to be temporary workplace notices posted on factory walls and bulletin boards, very few survived the war years, making original printings highly sought-after by collectors.