Funded with the generous support of the Conservative Party Archive Trustees, the poster collection held as part of the Conservative Party Archive at the Bodleian Library, Oxford has been digitised and is now freely available for download via the web. The main collection dates back to the Conservatives' attack on Lloyd George's People's Budget and support for the Tariff Reform League in 1909, but includes earlier posters back to 1886. The collection is a rich and stimulating visual resource for the study of the main issues affecting the politics of the 20th and early 21st centuries, and is continually being added to with regular transfers from Conservative Campaign Headquarters. Recent images used to highlight Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the EU Treaty in 2007, and in support of Boris Johnson's London mayoral campaign in 2008 bring the collection right up to date.
The Conservative Party Archivist would be glad to be advised of any errors in the information provided: corrections and queries should be addressed to: Jeremy.McIlwaine@bodley.ox.ac.uk.
Users are welcome to download these images for their own or any other non-commercial purpose without requesting further permission, provided the source is given as 'Conservative Party Archive' and the shelfmark cited (eg, Poster 1987-06). High resolution, publication-quality reproductions are available via the two methods below:
All of the poster images in the Conservative Party Archive are available to browse here on the Bodleian Library's own website using InsightŪ software provided by Luna Imaging, Inc. (see www.lunaimaging.com).
To view the collection with the InsightTM Browser click
here.
Note: This browser uses a standard web browser and requires no plug-ins or downloads, but does require
pop-ups to be enabled.
To view the collection with the InsightTM Java Client click
here to download.
Note: The Java Client provides additional functionality and advanced
features but must be downloaded.
username: cpaposters
password: cpaposters
If you experience technical difficulties while using this resource, please make sure that you have disabled any pop-up blocking software. PC users may hold down the control key while launching collections to disable pop-up blocking.
High resolution copies can be ordered direct from the Bodleian Library's Library's Imaging Services. An application form, including pricing options can be downloaded at: order form
Requests for permission to publish any poster on this site should be directed to: Mr Sheridan Westlake, Deputy Director, Conservative Research Department [Conservative Campaign Headquarters, 30 Millbank, London, SW1P 4DP; Tel: 020 7984 8073; Fax: 020 7984 8273; Sheridan Westlake]
The Bodleian Library would like to express its gratitude to David Rumsey for his generous support in enabling the use of the Luna Insight software for this resource.
Since December 2009, the entire collection of over 600 Conservative Party election posters is also available to browse or download from the Getty Images website, where it forms part of the Hulton Archive and complements existing Getty Images'collections of political imagery. As the world's most comprehensive commercial archive, the Hulton Archive is renowned for housing the world's largest collection of archival imagery, with over 80 million images, and is constantly being updated to include images dating to the end of the 20th century
To access the full collection of Conservative Party election posters.
