Alcohol poster

This American poster from the 1930s aims to educate viewers on the harms of consuming alcohol by explaining that alcohol is only useful when used outside the body, e.g. for cars, paint, varnish, paint, shellac, hair tonic, iodine, rubbing alcohol, perfume, explosives, rayon, and photographic film. Alcohol is described as a solvent and dehydrant which is 'harmful inside the body'.

The designer has cleverly split the poster in two, united by the figure of a man. One half of him is dressed in a suit, out in the world, where he can benefit from things made with alcohol. The other half of him is stripped back to his innards, vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol on the body.

It was very likely displayed in the School of Home Science, University of Otago, during the tenure of American Professor Ann Gilchrist Strong (1875-1957) who led the school from 1924 to 1940.

The previous deans had built the educational programme on a British university scientific foundation, whereas Strong was less theoretical. She developed courses in applied subjects, including food, clothing, household planning and furnishing. She believed that the principles of home science should be applied in every home, and had a particular concern for the health and education of children, and ran a nutrition clinic for Dunedin children and their mothers at the School of Home Science.