War Bonds
That Liberty Shall Not Perish: Joseph Pennell’s 1918 Liberty Loan Poster
Joseph Pennell imagined New York in flames and the Statue of Liberty shattered to sell the Fourth Liberty Loan. Here is the story behind the poster.
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The history behind the artwork.
Discover the artists, campaigns and imagery behind the posters, with archival sources and links to the corresponding editions.
74 poster histories · Page 3 of 7
Home Front
To Have and to Hold! The 1944 War Bonds Poster That Borrowed a Wedding Vow
A soldier, a flag and the words of the marriage service: how the Treasury sold war bonds in the last full year of the war.
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Recruitment
Americans! Join and Fight: A Rare 1918 San Francisco Army Poster
Edwin de la Laing’s 1918 poster sent volunteers to the U.S. Army recruiting office at 660 Market Street, San Francisco. Here is what it shows and why it is so scarce.
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Navy
Enlist in the Navy, To Arms: Milton Bancroft’s 1917 Bugler
A sailor sounding the call on a bugle: the story of Milton Bancroft’s 1917 Navy recruiting poster and the Impressionist painter who drew it.
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Relief Work
Verdun, Road to Y.M.C.A. Canteen: A 1917 Poster Sketched on the Spot
A YMCA secretary sketched this ruined Verdun street on the spot in 1917. Here is what the poster shows and what the YMCA canteens meant to soldiers.
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Home Front
Keep ’Em Frying! The WPA Poster That Turned Kitchen Grease Into Explosives
A Los Angeles WPA poster put the Axis leaders in a frying pan to get housewives saving fat for glycerin and nitroglycerin.
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Home Front Production
Rivets are Bayonets: Sheridan’s 1918 Shipyard Poster
John E. Sheridan’s 1918 Emergency Fleet Corporation poster told shipyard workers every rivet was a bayonet. Here is what it shows and the wartime shipbuilding drive behind it.
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Navy
Travel, Navy: Lou Nolan’s Far East Recruiting Poster
A destroyer at anchor in a Far East harbour, a sampan and a junk with an orange sail: the story of Lou Nolan’s Travel Navy recruiting poster.
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Homecoming
Welcome Home Our Gallant Boys: A 1918 Homecoming Poster
Liberty raises the Allied flags to welcome American soldiers home in this 1918 Hennegan & Co. poster. Here is what it shows and the battles it names.
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Marine Corps
Hit Hard and Often: The 1942 Marine Corps Poster That Took the War to Japan
Issued nine months after Pearl Harbor, this Marine Corps recruiting poster put a Grumman Wildcat over Mount Fuji while Marine pilots were fighting for their lives at Guadalcanal.
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Patriotism
Americans Will Always Fight for Liberty: Bernard Perlin’s 1778–1943 Poster
Bernard Perlin’s 1943 OWI poster marches World War II soldiers past the ragged Continental Army of 1778. Here is what it shows, what it meant and who made it.
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Navy
Build for Your Navy! The Seabees Recruiting Poster
Carpenters, machinists and electricians wanted: the story of Robert Muchley’s WPA poster recruiting the Navy’s Seabees.
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