Naomi Games

In 1946, Abram Games left the War Office armed with this testimonial: ‘His work had to be subtly persuasive, or directly “propagandist” – but it was always effective, compelling, and of outstanding quality.’ During the Second World War, Captain Games, holder of the unique title of ‘Official War Poster Artist’, designed a hundred posters for army use. The Ministry of Information adapted several designs for civilians. There is a tale to tell about many of these images, especially about his infamous but most successful ATS Blonde Bombshell recruiting poster. Being the son of a photographer, Games employed many ingenious photographic tricks to convey his message of ‘Maximum Meaning, Minimum Means’ in his designs. Most books on Graphic Design have included images by Abram Games. This is the only book published that concentrates solely on Games’s war work. The Estate of Abram Games holds his large archive, which includes a memo from Churchill, personal correspondence, press cuttings, sketches, paintings, and maps for the Army Bureau of Current Affairs, and photographs from Games’s seven years in army service.

This volume is an intriguing introduction to the graphic work of Abram Games. With images drawn from his personal archive, many less well known, it is possible to follow the social history of 20th-century Britain. For more than six decades Abram worked entirely on his own, always adhering to his personal maxim of 'maximum meaning, minimum means'. From the start, Abram Games was determined to become one of Britain's great poster designers and would often say, 'I have a small talent which I polish like a diamond.' A first-generation Londoner, and an autodidact, he maintained that the three qualities a designer needs are curiosity, concentration and courage. These he had in abundance. Just three months before his own death in November 1996, Abram's friend, the great American designer, Paul Rand, wrote in an obituary, "...stubborn, unique, a man of integrity, honour and talent, he meant what he said and said what he meant...Abe's work is well known; it is not my purpose to itemise his achievements, his posters for the army during WW2, his posters for Guinness, for the underground, many distinguished for their humour, their inventiveness and enthusiasm." Only Paul got away with calling him 'Abe'!