Our Glorious Dead

Souvenir paper table napkin commemorating the unveiling of the Cenotaph war memorial in 1919. The napkin, surrounded by a decorative border of coloured roses includes a woodcut of soldiers marching past the cenotaph and letterpress description of the ceremony. In the years following the end of World War I official, grand ceremonial events commemorating Britain's war dead and military heroes provided Londoners with an outlet for their shared grief and attracted huge crowds.

Similar souvenir napkins were printed for every large, popular public event, ceremony or procession that occured in London from the early to mid 20th century. The squares were imported into London from Japan pre-printed with a decorative border in up to 5 colours and a blank central area. Burgess was one of the main printer of such napkins that would be sold for one penny (1d) by street hawkers moving amongst the huge crowds that attended such popular events. As well as providing practical information such as a programme and timetable of the day's events these napkins were also intended to be taken home and kept as a souvenir. Many were framed and used as decoration in working class homes.