| Original caption: “Loose Lips Might Sink Ships. This poster is published by the House of Seagram as part of its contribution to the National Victory Effort.” In March 1942, Seagram’s Distillers Advertising Manager George E. Mosley (May 30, 1905 – July 3, 1980) and Seymour Rinaldo Goff (December 7, 1904 – March 20, 1992) created a campaign of “anti-rumor, anti-whispering posters.” The series was such an immediate success, with striking visuals designed by Goff, that by mid-June, the posters were issued in stamp size. Seagram’s made the posters and stamps available to draft boards, arsenals, air raid wardens, and, of course, pubs and taverns. The only advertising was the small line of text crediting Seagram’s at the bottom of the poster. The sheet of stamps came in sets of 16 and were “small enough to be fastened to envelopes, letterheads, invoices, locker room doors and packages, but large enough to get their message across effectively.” The stamps were signed with Seymour Rinaldo Goff’s full name, but the posters were signed “Essargee” — a playful pseudonym based on his initials. His work is often credited to the commercial and magazine artist Henry Sharp “Harry” Goff Junior (August 4, 1905 – June 17, 1993), who was an entirely different person and does not appear to have been employed by Seagram’s directly. Harry had his own business that received contracts from the Saturday Evening Post, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Reader’s Digest. It’s unclear if Harry worked with Seymour on the campaign and if they shared the “Essargee” pseudonym. In December 1975, Seymour Goff exhibited his posters at the Garage Sale Galleria in Fallbrook, California. 10 of his posters were part of the Smithsonian collection at that time. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1620.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.96 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 3796 x 4626 |
| Photographer | Seymour R. Goff |
| Photographer Title | Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | March 1, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | New York |
| State or Province | New York |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-44-PA-82 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database