Book, The Greater Britain

The Rise of Fascism in Great Britain
Kauffer’s work challenged and communicated messages of radical politics and social upheaval in 1930s Britain. In this era, the power of modernism amplified both revolutionary propaganda and a vision of a better future amid disorder and strife. In the early 1930s, the ideology of fascism and its activity in Italy and Germany provoked debate and intrigue among the British public, including within Kauffer’s circle. But as fascist leader Oswald Mosley gained power in England, strong opposition soon mobilized against his demands for total government control and the suppression of individuality. By 1934, Kauffer began regularly lending his talents to antifascist and peace organizations.




The Greater Britain was the foundational text for the British Union of Fascists (BUF). Why Kauffer was chosen to illustrate the cover is unknown. Oswald Mosley, the leader of the BUF, socialized in the same circles as Kauffer in the early 1930s. Kauffer’s aggressive design features a fasces—a bundle of twigs with a protruding axe—an ancient Roman symbol of power. Mosley adopted this imagery directly from the founder of Italy’s National Fascist Party, Benito Mussolini (1883–1945).

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer.