“When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt”

“When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt” is a popular work saying that has been printed on many images. The saying was printed in an April 11, 1947 Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch advertisement for Siegel’s Super Market. The saying was printed again in a January 17, 1951 Ogden (UT) Standard-Examiner advertisement for C. G. Eklund Electric Co.
 
American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser (1882-1967) is usually credited with the saying. “Henry J. Kaiser says: ‘When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt’” was printed in the Wakefield (MI) News on August 3, 1951. However, Kaiser was well-known, and his sayings were likely to find print soon after he made them. There is no evidence that Kaiser said it by 1947.
 
   
Wikipedia: Henry J. Kaiser
Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. He established the Kaiser Shipyards, which built Liberty ships during World War II, after which he formed Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel. Kaiser organized Kaiser Permanente health care for his workers and their families. He led Kaiser-Frazer followed by Kaiser Motors, automobile companies known for the safety of their designs. Kaiser was involved in large construction projects such as civic centers and dams, and invested in real estate. With his wealth, he established the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, non-partisan, charitable organization.
     
11 April 1947, Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch, pg. 12, col. 7 ad:
CHARLIE SIEGEL SAYS: “When Your Work Speaks for Itself, Don’t Interrupt.”
(Siegel’s Super Market.—ed.)
 
17 January 1951, Ogden (UT) Standard-Examiner, pg. 3, col. 2 ad:
WHEN YOUR WORK SPEAKS FOR ITSELF, DON’T INTERRUPT
(C. G. Eklund Electric Co.—ed.)
 
3 August 1951, Wakefield (MI) News, “Picked Up Here and There,” pg. 4, col. 3:
Henry J. Kaiser says: ‘When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.”
 
6 August 1952, Macon (MO) Chronicle-Herald, pg. 1 banner:
When Your Work Speaks For Itself, Don’t Interrupt It
 
Goole News Archive
15 May 1953, Toledo (OH) Blade, “New York” by John Cameron Swayze, Peach sec., pg. 1, col. 1:
I like Henry Kaiser’s admonition: “WHen your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.”
 
Google Books
Railway Carmen’s Journal
Volumes 63-64
1958
Pg. 15:
When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.— Henry Kaiser.
   
Google Books
The Quotable Billionaire:
Advice and Reflections from and for the Real, Former, Almost, and Wnnna-Be Super-Rich…and Others
By Steven D. Price
New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing
2009
Pg. 131:
When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt. —Henry J. Keiser
 
Google Books
The Official Rules:
5,427 Laws, Principles, and Axioms to Help You Cope with Crises, Deadlines, Bad Luck, Rude Behavior, Red Tape, and Attacks by Inanimate Objects
By Paul Dickson
Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc.
2013
Pg. 150:
Henry J’s Rule. When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt. (Automotive pioneer Henry J. Kaiser.)
 
Google Books
Chicken Soup for the Soul:
101 Motivational Stories for Writers
By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Amy Newmark and Susan M. Heim
Cos Cob, CT: Chicken Soup for the Soul Pub.,
2013
Pg. ?:
When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt. ~Henry J. Kaiser