'He wanted to see inside', 1943

Colour lithograph information poster, after Abram Games (1914-1996), printed by Alf Cooke Ltd, 1943.

Born in 1914 to Latvian and Russo-Polish parents in Whitechapel, East London, Abram Games joined the Army in 1939 and was quickly designated the role of draughtsman. By 1942 he had been promoted to captain and was the only Official War Poster Artist for the rest of the Second World War.

Games called this series of posters the 'Symphony Macabre'. He was concerned that they might not be approved by the War Office and, in a letter to a friend, wrote, 'I am working again on my Accident Ammunition series and today formed a rather daring design - I don't think they will have it!'

After the war his freelance career went from strength to strength with commissions for the Festival of Britain, the United Nations, Shell, Guinness and the BBC. After a career spanning over 60 years, Games died in 1996 leaving a legacy of daring, distinctive and elegant images.

Justly famous for his innovative and bold poster commissions, Games claimed that the perfect design employed 'maximum meaning, minimum means'.

As Official War Artist Games produced about 100 extraordinary posters for the British Army, ranging in theme from recruitment, through to personal hygiene and post-war re-training. This poster warns against tampering with ordnance. The text reads: 'Accidents occur daily through willful tampering. Taking ammunition to pieces is illegal, wasteful and dangerous. Ask an expert.'

From a collection of 45 posters from World War Two (1939-1945).