“Americans! Join and Fight.” In 1918 this poster hung in San Francisco to send volunteers to one address: the U.S. Army recruiting office at 660 Market Street. Signed and dated by Edwin de la Laing and printed locally by the Louis Roesch Co., it is a rare West Coast survivor of the First World War, made for a single city’s recruiting drive rather than for the national poster campaigns.
What the poster shows
A soldier in a steel helmet, stripped to the waist, swings his rifle over his head like a club as he charges forward. Behind him the Stars and Stripes fills half the sky. At his side a wounded comrade, his head bandaged, kneels and fires a pistol. Two biplanes cross the pale blue sky between banks of white cloud, and the stakes of a barbed-wire entanglement rise from the sand-coloured ground.
The lettering is simple and direct: AMERICANS! across the top in pale blue, JOIN and FIGHT in navy and red, and a white panel at the bottom that reads U.S. ARMY with the recruiting office address, 660 Market St., San Francisco. The flat colour, heavy outlines and bold type show the influence of commercial poster design on wartime recruiting.
A local recruiting poster
Most famous American posters of the war, such as James Montgomery Flagg’s “I Want You”, were produced for national campaigns and printed in huge numbers. This one was different. It was printed in San Francisco for local recruiting and was never distributed nationally, which is why so few copies survive and why it is missing from the standard reference books on American World War I posters. Other San Francisco posters of the period direct volunteers to the same Market Street office.
Little is recorded about the artist beyond his signature, EDWIN de la LAING, and the date 18 printed just above the recruiting panel.
Volunteers and the draft in 1918
When the United States entered the war in April 1917 its Regular Army was small. The Selective Service Act of May 1917 introduced the draft, and eventually about 2.8 million men were drafted, but the Army also kept recruiting volunteers through offices like the one on Market Street. Recruiting posters promised action, adventure and the chance to choose a branch of service. In August 1918 the War Department ended most voluntary enlistment, and the draft became the main route into the Army, which makes this 1918 poster a record of the last months of volunteer recruiting in the war.
The restored edition
Our edition was restored from an archival scan of an original 1918 print. The comparison below shows the difference: yellowed paper, folds, tears and stains were repaired and the colours brought back, while the artist’s signature, the printer’s imprint and the original lettering were kept intact.
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 designed the Americans! Join and Fight poster?
The poster is signed and dated "Edwin de la Laing 18" and was printed in 1918 by the Louis Roesch Co. of San Francisco for the U.S. Army recruiting office at 660 Market Street.
What was at 660 Market Street, San Francisco?
660 Market Street was a U.S. Army recruiting office during World War I. Other San Francisco recruiting posters of the period also direct volunteers to the same address.
Why is this poster rare?
It was printed in San Francisco for local recruiting and was not distributed nationally, so far fewer copies were made than for the big federal poster campaigns. It does not appear in the standard reference books on American World War I posters.
Did the U.S. Army still need volunteers in 1918?
Yes. The Selective Service Act of May 1917 brought in the draft, but men could still volunteer until the War Department ended most voluntary enlistment in August 1918, after which the draft became the main route into the Army.
How big was the original poster?
Original copies measure about 41.5 x 27.5 inches. Our restored edition is available as a paper print up to 23.4 x 33.1 inches and as a framed print up to 23 x 33 inches.