Post Early
Post Early was the first public information campaign launched after the creation of the public relations department in 1934. Recognising the need to secure public participation in order to improve efficiency, it was directed at changing the habit of posting at the end of the day.
The commission for The Last Minute proposed that rather than "merely commanding" the public to post early, it would be better to show "what inconvenience they will suffer, when they post late". The poster was never adopted as its treatment was thought to be "out of keeping with Post Office requirements".
Post during lunch hour shows a different type of commission for the same theme. Writing on the use of colour, mass and line, Edward McKnight Kauffer once described the "sledge hammer" effect of geometric patterns when handled by a sensitive designer.
While Post your letters before noon still looks to the fine art tradition, it does so through the imaginary transformation of surrealist painting. Produced in 1941, this poster represents the development of the campaign to improve efficiency during wartime.
The Last Minute
The Post Office commissioned the Bloomsbury artist Vanessa Bell to design this poster in 1934.
Post Early, Parcels by Dec: 18. Letters by Dec: 20
Leonard Beaumont's poster informed of the latest posting dates for Christmas.
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