The Dam Busters (1954) poster, British

Artist: Angelo Cesselon (1922-1992)

Unframed: 30 x 40 in. (76 x 102 cm)

Exceptionally rare British poster, especially in this wonderful condition, and one of the best examples to have surfaced. Less than twenty known surviving examples.

This British epic war film was directed by Michael Anderson, starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave. It was based on two books—The Dam Busters by Paul Brickhill (1951) and Enemy Coast Ahead by Guy Gibson (1946). The film re-enacts the true story of Operation Chastise, an attack in May 1943 by the Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron—later called the Dam Busters—on German dams by using Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb. This attack caused catastrophic flooding and destruction to Germany's industrial base, together with the loss of civilian life.