Two sailors in white caps and heavy gloves are bolting a steel girder together. One leans over it with a wrench, the other braces a bar from below. Beyond them, palm-fringed islands and grey warships sit on a bright blue sea, and in the corner a small round badge shows a fighting bee. The headline, in flowing script and bold capitals, says Build for Your Navy!
What the poster shows
The design is flat, bold and limited to a few colours, the hallmark of WPA silkscreen posters. Orange steel, black shadow and sky blue do all the work. The message is spelled out at the foot: Enlist! Carpenters, machinists, electricians etc. For information apply to your nearest recruiting station. U.S. Navy, Bureau of Yards & Docks.
The Seabees
After Pearl Harbor the Navy needed bases, airfields, fuel depots and harbours built across the Pacific, often under fire. Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, won approval in early 1942 to form Naval Construction Battalions: CBs, soon called Seabees. Instead of training recruits from scratch, the Navy enlisted skilled tradesmen, many of them older men with years of experience in construction.
The Seabee badge in the corner, a bee wearing a sailor’s cap and carrying a gun and tools, was designed in 1942 and is still the Seabees’ emblem.
Robert Muchley and the WPA
The poster is signed R. Muchley and marked WPA. The Work Projects Administration employed artists through the Great Depression, and in its last years its poster studios turned to the war effort. The Library of Congress holds this design in its collection of WPA posters.
The restored edition
Our edition was restored from an original print: the paper and colours cleaned, and creases, stains and wear removed, with the lettering, the Seabee badge, Muchley’s signature and the WPA mark kept. We don’t have a usable scan of this print before restoration, so there is no before and after comparison.
The restored poster is available as a paper print in three sizes or framed in black, white or natural wood, printed to order in the USA.
Frequently asked questions
Who made Build for Your Navy?
Robert Muchley, for the Work Projects Administration poster program. His signature, R. Muchley, is at the left and the WPA mark at the lower right.
Who were the Seabees?
The Navy’s Construction Battalions, formed in early 1942 under the Bureau of Yards and Docks to build bases, airfields and harbours. They recruited skilled tradesmen.
When was the poster made?
Around 1942, when the Seabees were formed and the WPA poster studios were working for the war effort.
What is the badge in the corner?
The Seabee emblem, a bee in a sailor’s cap carrying a gun and tools, designed in 1942 and still in use.
How big is the restored print?
Our restored edition is available as a paper print up to 23.4 x 33.1 inches, or framed up to 23 x 33 inches, printed to order in the USA.