Historical Portraits, from the series 'The Empire is Still in Building', 1927 (colour litho)

left to right: Cabot, Hudson, Drake, Smith, Raleigh, Dampier, Penn, Anson, Chatham, Wolfe, Clive; commissioned by the Empire Marketing Board and printed by John Waddington Ltd for HMSO; Manchester Art Gallery holds a fascinating collection of artist-designed posters, Commissioned by the British government's Empire Marketing Board between 1926 and 1933. The EMB's main function was to increase sales of Empire-grown and Empire-made goods throughout Great Britain, its Dominions and its Colonies. One aspect of its activities was a poster campaign that was designed to turn Britons into 'Empire-conscious' consumers. Over 200 posters were acquired by Manchester Art Gallery in the 1930s. The posters' strong images illustrate the Empire's people, places and products. However, for a contemporary audience, the posters sometimes express uncomfortable beliefs and raise difficult questions about the legacies of the Empire today.