A soldier in a steel helmet and a torn khaki shirt strains to hold up a vast American flag. The stripes ripple across the whole top of the poster, the stars billow above his head, and his arm drives a long diagonal through a dark, smoky sky. In white script across the flag: To have and to hold! Below, in deep red capitals: War Bonds.
Words from the wedding service
“To have and to hold, from this day forward” comes from the marriage vows in the Book of Common Prayer. In 1944 those words carried weight for millions of families with a husband, son or fiancé overseas. The poster turns the vow into a promise to the country: the soldier holds the flag, and the people at home pledge to help him keep it by buying bonds.
Two posters, one slogan
The Treasury’s War Finance Division liked the line enough to use it twice in 1944. This soldier-and-flag design is poster WFD-891, printed by the Government Printing Office at 28 by 20 inches. A second poster, WFD 901-A, put the same words with a picture of a young child. Dealers and catalogues often mix the two up.
The war loan drives
1944 brought two of the eight wartime war loan drives. The Fifth War Loan ran in June and July, around D-Day, and the Sixth in November and December. Dealers often link this poster to the Sixth War Loan, which raised about $21 billion against a $14 billion goal, but no museum record we found confirms which drive it was printed for.
The artist
The Brigham Young University Museum of Art, which holds a copy, credits the painting to Vic Guinnell, and the dealer Poster Group gives the same name. We have found little else about him, so we describe the poster as attributed to Guinnell.
The restored edition
Our edition was restored from a photograph of an original print. The colour was cleaned and brought back, with folds, stains and wear removed, and the lettering and Treasury imprint kept from the original. It 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 the To Have and to Hold war bonds poster?
It was issued by the U.S. Treasury’s War Finance Division in 1944 as poster WFD-891. The Brigham Young University Museum of Art attributes the painting to Vic Guinnell.
What does To Have and to Hold mean on the poster?
It borrows the marriage vow, turning it into a pledge that people at home would help the soldier keep what he was fighting for.
Is there more than one To Have and to Hold poster?
Yes. The Treasury also issued WFD 901-A with the same words and a picture of a young child.
What sizes are the prints?
Paper prints are 11.7 × 16.5, 20 × 28 or 23.4 × 33.1 inches; framed prints are 12 × 17, 20 × 28 or 23 × 33 inches, in black, white or natural wood.