What first seizes the eye in Otto Plattner’s CH-NB Poster Collection SNL POL 381 is the monumental figure of the working man, his white beard and resolute gaze set against a field of blazing red. His grip on the flag is unyielding, the Swiss cross unfurling behind him like a banner of purpose. The artist has carved this figure from broad, confident strokes, giving the man’s arms and chest a sculptural solidity.

The palette is bold and limited: the red and white of the flag dominate, while the ochre of the apron and the steel grey of the shirt root the figure in the world of labor. The black shield in the upper corner, with its curling motif, adds a note of heraldic authority, but it is the man’s posture—upright, almost defiant—that commands the scene. Everything here is built to rally, to persuade, to make the viewer feel the weight and dignity of the citizen at work. This poster, created around 1934, belongs to a turbulent era when political graphics were called upon to do more than inform—they had to inspire, mobilize, and sometimes warn.

In Switzerland, as across much of Europe, the early 1930s saw fierce competition between parties and ideologies, each seeking to claim the loyalty of the working and middle classes. Posters like this, with their heroic realism and clear, declarative slogans, were designed to cut through the noise of the street and the uncertainty of the times. The text, “Werktätige Bürgerliche wählt Liste: 2,” speaks directly to the working bourgeoisie, urging them to support a specific electoral list.

Little is recorded about the individual journey of this particular piece, now preserved in the Swiss National Library’s collection, but its visual language speaks volumes about the hopes and anxieties of its moment. The poster’s call to action lingers, inviting us to imagine the world it once sought to shape.