National WWI Museum and Memorial
National WWI Museum and Memorial
The Power of Images
In World War I, the poster, previously the successful medium of commercial advertising, was recognized as a means of spreading national propaganda with near unlimited possibilities. Its value was increasingly appreciated; the poster could impress an idea quickly, vividly and lastingly.
"I Want You For the U.S. Army" (1917/1917) by James Montgomery FlaggNational WWI Museum and Memorial
Duty
Some posters during the war relied on the viewers' sense of duty to convey a message, appealing to a person's desire to take direct action in the conflict. In 1917, James Montgomery Flagg created one of the most recognizable American poster from the war, a painting of Uncle Sam in his own likeness. Posters like this encouraged men and women on all sides of the war to serve their countries.
Vaterlandspende - German WWI Poster (1918) by Louis OppenheimNational WWI Museum and Memorial
Sentimentality
Other posters appealed to the viewers' emotions: their national pride, honor or sentimentality, speaking to their desire to help their fellow citizens and families.
Enlist - Poster (1915-06) by Fred Spear, Boston Public Safety Committee, and Sackett and Wilhelms Corp., NYNational WWI Museum and Memorial
Fear
Other posters capitalized on more violent emotions, especially fear and anger at the enemy. In
the United States, posters began to make their appeals to the “American sense
of right and wrong” long before the country officially entered the war in April
1917. Posters urged the country to prepare and, after the sinking of the Lusitania
in 1915, to enlist.
“Posters literally deluged the country,” said one American observer.
“On every city street, along the rural highways, the posters were to be found repeating their insistent messages day and night.” British historian Martin Hardie also wrote in 1920 that “it was inevitable that posters should be among the first munitions of war.”
All Content: National WWI Museum and Memorial
Curator of Education: Lora Vogt
Digital Content Manager: Liesl Christman
Senior Curator: Doran Cart
Registrar: Stacie Petersen
Director, Archives and Edward Jones Research Center: Jonathan Casey
Made possible in part by the generous support of the William T. Kemper Foundation, the Regnier Family Foundation and the David T. Beals, III Charitable Trust.
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