On a black hillside three British soldiers crouch around a machine gun, its barrel spitting fire into a bright orange sky. The ammunition belt feeding the gun is not cartridges but war bond certificates, curling down the page in a long white ribbon. In the corner, in heavy orange letters: Your Maxim “Buy War Bonds”.
A pun in two words
The joke works twice. A maxim is a rule to live by, and the Maxim was the machine gun invented by Hiram Maxim that dominated the battlefields of the First World War. Bert Thomas made the gun the slogan and the bonds its ammunition: every certificate bought kept the gun firing.
Feed the Guns
The poster was issued in August 1918 by the National War Savings Committee as its poster no. 113, printed by the Grosvenor Press. According to the Imperial War Museum, it was first printed with a different title, Feed the Guns, and a printed strip was pasted over it. Feed the Guns was the great bond drive of autumn 1918, when Trafalgar Square was turned into a ruined French village with real guns that the public could “feed” by buying bonds.
The artist
Herbert Samuel “Bert” Thomas was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, in 1883. In November 1914 he drew a cheerful Tommy lighting his pipe under the line “’Arf a mo’, Kaiser!”. Reportedly sketched in ten minutes for the Weekly Dispatch, it became one of the best-known images of the war and helped raise around £250,000 to send tobacco to the troops. Thomas joined the Artists’ Rifles in 1916, was made an MBE in 1918, and in that year painted a 75-foot war bonds picture across the front of the National Gallery. He drew more than a thousand cartoons for Punch and died in 1966.
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 artist’s signature and lettering 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 Your Maxim poster?
The British cartoonist Bert Thomas (1883 to 1966). It was issued by the National War Savings Committee in August 1918.
What does Your Maxim mean?
It is a pun: a maxim is a motto, and the Maxim was the machine gun. The belt feeding the gun is made of war bond certificates.
Was the poster ever titled differently?
Yes. The Imperial War Museum notes it was first titled Feed the Guns, with a printed strip later pasted over that title.
Is this an American poster?
No. It is a British First World War poster and is part of our Allied posters collection.
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.
Historical sources
- Imperial War Museum: Your Maxim, Buy War Bonds (Art.IWM PST 10455)
- Google Arts & Culture / Smithsonian: Your Maxim, Buy War Bonds
- British Cartoon Archive: Bert Thomas