Keep Calm and Carry On – An iconic poster

Everywhere you look on the web you’re sure to find a ”Keep Calm” poster. For months now I have seen different versions of this poster on Facebook, Twitter, and especially Pinterest. I believe that’s where I first saw the iconic “Keep Calm” poster but to be completely honest I never knew its history. I figured someone coined “Keep Calm”, added a new phrase here and there and it went viral. It wasn’t until tonight that I finally found out about its origin.

So where did I find this information? Well, believe it or not, I was looking over my discussion assignment for class and my professor posted a short video from YouTube, which I will post here, on it’s history. I was amazed to find out that there was so much more to this poster. I will only give a few tidbits here so that you can watch the video for yourself but according to CBSNews.com, “In the build-up to World War II, the British government knew its people were on edge.” This of course was during the time of Nazi Germany. The Nazi’s had already crushed many European countries, but in order to keep up moral the government requested that posters be made to reassure the people as stated by CBSNews.com. What makes this so interesting is that out of all the posters, the public never saw the one that displayed “Keep Calm and Carry On”. It wasn’t until 2000 when the owner of Barter Books found it within an old box, after which it was hung up and finally viewed by the public. For the fans of the “Keep Calm” posters, this is for you. If you didn’t know before about its history, you do now and knowing is half the battle.

For more info on Barter Books visit here.

Creators of the video – studiocanoe | wearenation