Military Posters and Propaganda

We are a part of eBay Affiliate Network, and if you make a purchase through the links on our site we earn affiliate commission.

WWI Propaganda Posters

During World War I, the U.S. government, contractors, and advertisers alike printed large quantities of posters in order to deliver a variety of propaganda messages to the general public. Because they were printed in large...
Continue reading

WWI Propaganda Posters

During World War I, the U.S. government, contractors, and advertisers alike printed large quantities of posters in order to deliver a variety of propaganda messages to the general public. Because they were printed in large numbers, vintage war posters can be more affordable than you might expect. Even though the United States would not enter World War I until 1917, the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in 1915 prompted artist Fred Spear to create one of the most famous posters of that era. Titled "Enlist," the color lithograph features a mother cradling her child as both sink into the briny deeps—the call to action, ENLIST, is rendered on the poster in large, blocky letters. Two years later, with the nation fully engaged in the European conflict, artist James Montgomery Flagg riffed on a famous British war-recruitment poster of the day to create his "I Want You For U.S. Army" poster. More than four million copies of the iconic image were reproduced during World War I alone, ensuring Flagg’s place in history as the creator of, and model for, the most famous likeness of Uncle Sam. Another type of vintage World War I recruiting poster featured appeals to women, such as Edward Penfield’s "Yes sir, I am here!" which shows an earnest young woman standing at attention, saluting, and reporting for duty in the Motor Corps of America. The Christy Girl posters, named for their illustrator, Howard Chandler Christy, used smiling, mildly provocative women clad in men’s uniforms to encourage men to enlist in the Navy and Marines. Meanwhile, German propaganda had been used to support the country's commitment to "Burgfrieden" (directly translated as "castle peace"), which demanded that Germany's political parties cease their bickering to unite in defense of their homeland. Many early German posters urged patriotic donations of supplies toward the war effort. By 1916, as Germans became weary of living in a country at war, the German National...
Continue reading

Best of the Web

Fillmore and Avalon Collection
Wish you'd visited San Francisco in the late 1960s? Get a quick hit with this comprehensive...
WW2 Posters
Ben Perry's Flickr photoset of almost 3,000 World War Two government posters. Hard to describe...
USSR Posters
Ben Perry's Flickr photoset showcasing almost 1500 Soviet propaganda, advertising, theatre and...
The American Memory Project
This amazing Library of Congress site includes about a hundred photo and document collections...
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library's impressive Digital Gallery offers free access to over 500,000...
London Transport Museum Posters
A must-see collection of 5,000 vivid, colorful British posters from the early 1900s onward....
Most Watched

Best of the Web

Fillmore and Avalon Collection
Wish you'd visited San Francisco in the late 1960s? Get a quick hit with this comprehensive...
WW2 Posters
Ben Perry's Flickr photoset of almost 3,000 World War Two government posters. Hard to describe...
USSR Posters
Ben Perry's Flickr photoset showcasing almost 1500 Soviet propaganda, advertising, theatre and...
The American Memory Project
This amazing Library of Congress site includes about a hundred photo and document collections...
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library's impressive Digital Gallery offers free access to over 500,000...
London Transport Museum Posters
A must-see collection of 5,000 vivid, colorful British posters from the early 1900s onward....