“Socialism” octopus by Louis Wain, circa 1902. Many thanks to Jack Graham for providing a rather unusual political cartoon.

“What the Socialist Prime Minister aims at by his Referenda scheme.”
Brisbane Courier, Friday May 23rd 1913 p4.

Octopus with the head of Andrew Fisher. Cartoon was published about a week prior to the general election on May 31 in which the newly renamed Labor party lost by one seat. 

The “Referenda scheme” refers to the 1913 Referendum also held on May 31. It covered: Trade and Commerce, Corporations, Industrial Matters, Trusts, Nationalisation of Monopolies and Railway Disputes.

Labels read:

• ‘£54 per week with “exes” and “perks”’
• Car: “Made by France”
• “Farmer”
• “Railways”
• “Industry” and “Industrialism”
• “Commerce”
• “Trader”
• Unable to decipher last one.

“contra el fascismo y el un frente unico” (against fascism and a united front).

Lot of symbology: octopus holding barrel of oil and, corn cob. Hands holding: tools, books, sickle.

Similar imagery to the SOA Watch Skulltopus, in the people versus the monster state/corporations.

FPR is the Frente Popular Revolucionario

Image source: FPR ‘Galeria De Carteles’ (Accessed: 15th Feb 2010)

How Communism Works (~1938 )

Source: http://wpscms.pearsoncmg.com/wps/media/objects/1693/1733989/images/img_w066.html

Les Monopoles (Carrère, P. ~1919, Published by: Chachoin for Union des interets economiques)

The return of the red pieuvre: l’Etat monopole (state monopolies) or Etatiste (statist). I have included “l’Etat Monopole” beneath “Les Monopoles” to compare the two. Both with the red octopus, most of the figures are represented in both, they are, essential the same image.

“LES MONOPOLES donnent de mauvais résultats Opposez-vous à la création de nouveaux Monopoles Défendez LA LIBERTÉ du Commerce de l’Industrie de l’Agriculture et du Travail.” (Monopolies produce bad results. Oppose the creation of new monopolies. Defend freedom of trade, industry, agriculture and labour.)

The octopus is labelled Pieuvre Etatiste (State-control octopus), and the figures are: Mines, Assurances (insurance), Boissons (drinks), Sucres (sugars), Pétroles (oils), and Mutualité Agricole (farmers’ mutual). As well, there is tobacco (the pipe), matches, saltpetre (used in gun powder) and the P.T.T (post).

Source & Translation: VADs, http://tinyurl.com/ad8jqo, (Accessed 2nd Feb 2009)

Stemt Rood! (Hahn, 1918)

The Art Nouveau poster shows the creepy green Kapatalisme (capitalism) octopus with its arms: hongershood (famine), oorlogsleed (war, suffering), anarchie (anarchy) and levensmiddelenwoeker (food usury?)¹ . The octopus is under attack from a worker with a pickaxe. The octopus is associated with a burning city and skulls, as opposed to the untouched town behind the worker.

Albert Hahn (1877-1918)² illustrated “Stemt Rood” for the Sociaal-Democratische Arbeiderspartij. It was printed in 1918 (the same year as Hahn’s death). The slogan read: “Stemt rood!  Kiest de Kandidaten der Soc. Dem. Arb. Partij” (Sociaal-Democratische Arbeiderspartij) or “Vote red! Choose the candidate of the Social-Democratic Labor/Workers’ Party”³. Apparently ten thousand of these posters were printed⁴. They would have been impressive at the size they were printed at: ~ 107 cm x 78.5 cm.

Footnotes

1. Translated with Google language tools. I think the translations may be suspect in this case.
2. Albert Hahn: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Hahn (in Dutch) Accessed: 1st Feb 2009
3. Translated with the help of Google language tools.
4. International Institute of Social History (Netherlands): http://tinyurl/cc93fh (Accessed: 1st Feb 2009)