WW1 RARE Propaganda English Death Bruges bombing 1917 - Original Press Photo For Sale

An original 6.5x9" antique photo from a stunning and extensive collection of rare WW1 press photos that we acquired from an estate collection in London from a major sale house. It is an original silver gelatin photo. Professionally packaged in a rigid mailer for safe delivery.

Photo Overview

A powerful World War 1 anti-British propaganda image showing a skeletal figure of Death strapped to the wing of an English aircraft as it drops bombs on the Flemish countryside, with a burning town visible far below. The moroffer cartoon, titled in Dutch “De Engelsche dood boven Vlaanderen” (“The English death above Flanders”), caricatures British aerial bombardment over Bruges and wider Flanders and was reproduced as a wartime press photograph for distribution in occupied Belgium.

Issued in occupied Belgium during WW1, this macabre composition reflects the growing terror of early strategic bombing, when British and French aircraft raided Bruges and other Flemish targets used by the German navy. Such propaganda images were used by German and collaborationist authorities to inflame Belgian civilian opinion against the Allies by stressing civilian casualties from indiscriminate aerial attacks. Historically important WW1 aviation and homefront material like this survives in very small numbers, so collectors who value rare propaganda and bombing-related images should secure it now before it disappears into another long term collection.

Text Present

Front - no printed text visible on the image side.

Back - printed Dutch caption on pasted paper strip:
"De Engelsche dood boven Vlaanderen.
Deze cynische voorstelling bevond zich op het draagdek van een kortgeleden boven Brugge neergeschoten Engelsch vliegtuig. Inderdaad, honderden Belgische burgers vielen reeds ten offer aan den zijn projectielen blindelings omlaag slingerenden Engelschen dood."

English translation of caption:
"The English death above Flanders.
This cynical representation was found on the wing deck of an English aircraft recently shot down over Bruges. Indeed, hundreds of Belgian civilians have already fallen victim to its English death, which hurls its projectiles blindly downward."

Print analysis:
Gelatin silver press photograph on medium-weight paper, with a period Dutch-language caption strip typical of WW1 European press and propaganda agencies. The tonality, aging, and style of captioning are consistent with an original circa 1914-1918 print rather than a much later reproduction. No modern halftone dot pattern is evident, indicating a true photographic print rather than a book plate. Likely a Type 1 original press photo printed within a few years of the drawing’s creation, circa mid-late 1910s.

Condition: Photo is in fair to good condition. Please check photos for the most accurate condition. The back of the photo may have remnants from having been attached to an album page.