When Posters Went to War - English Composition and Rhetoric | ENGL 102, Study notes of English Language

Download When Posters Went to War - English Composition and Rhetoric | ENGL 102 and more Study notes English Language in PDF only on Docsity! When Posters Went to War: How America's Best Commercial Artists Helped Win World War I Author(s): George L. Vogt Source: The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Vol. 84, No. 2 (Winter, 2000-2001), pp. 38-47 Published by: Wisconsin Historical Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4636901 . Accessed: 12/01/2011 11:44 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. 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Wisconsin Historical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Wisconsin Magazine of History. http://www.jstor.org ~~~~~~~~XP4~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~''"'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .? ..~..~,,~~~.: 'r " rlii? .i:..~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~':" ::: ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~;',:'..:.::.:: :: :i:.::': 'i .".:...,%. "~~~ ~~ i~00i~~ ? '~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~;? ?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i: :, :',",,','::, : ,:, ' ' :::i' ?: ,~!:':':% 1 '~'~ ~ ~~ji : WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY FOR U.S.ARMY NEAREST RECRUITING STATION . . . ............. . ------ . .. ... PH 6030 "I Want You for U.S. Army, " undoubtedly the mostfamous image of all the World War Iposters. Commercial artist James Montgomery Flagg took the finger-pointing concept directly from British artist Alfred Leete's poster of Lord Kitchener and used his own face as a model for Uncle Sam. The poster measures 20 x 301/4 inches. rarely did the reality of war intrude. Unlike many European posters of the period, American posters almost never mentioned the word war. War bonds were always "Liberty Bonds," and combat and the impact of war on civilian populations was rarely pictured, except in silhouette, on American posters. Humor, unless inadvertent, was seldom apparent. Except to portray a rapacious "Hun" with bloody fingers or boots and a wild look to the eye, few American World War I posters descended to the extreme level of racist caricature of many American World War II posters a quarter-century later. World War I poster art was a carefully calculated means to an end, usually the purchase of bonds or the rationing of food or other resources. Realism or hard-edged caricature would distract from the poster's mes- sage and from the designer's goals: fulfilling the needs of the domestic agenda and motivating those on the homefront to give money, time, and effort. In addition to commercial artists, a number of serious artists also volunteered for the DPP, such as Joseph Pennell, who had published beautiful books of engravings and drawings of the Panama Canal under construction and other architectural subjects. Besides Reuterdahl, the naval artist, the artistic armada also included a number of talented European and Latin Ameri- can immigrants, among them Wladyslaw Theodore Benda (Polish), F. Luis Mora (Uruguayan), J. Paul Verrees (Belgian), and Voitech Preissig (Czech). How did all of these images move from the drawing boards and studios of artists to become posters on the sides of buildings, in hotel and theater lobbies, and on the fences and kiosks of the streets? Gibson organized and coordinated the work using commercial standards and pro- cedures. He felt that design competitions and national contests wasted precious time, so when possible he avoided that practice of the federal government and simply handed out assign- ments, with the direct assistance of his trusted colleague Frank DeSales Casey, vice-chairman of the DPP. The government took the role of the client, and the artists provided the required serv- ice. Juries for the work did exist, both in New York and Washington, but their function was largely to accept, reject, or revise the submitted work based on the overall campaign, rather than judge it solely on its artistic merit. Every Friday evening, gov- ernment representatives with specific design projects met with artists at 200 5th Avenue and then adjourned to Keen's English Chop House, a landmark restaurant still in business today on 36th Street. Later, when the group outgrew Keen's, it met at the Salmagundi Club, where one or two of the likeliest artists would be seated next to the requesting official during dinner, the bet- ter to get a feel for the job. Every week, Casey lugged a seven- ty-five-pound container of the latest drawings to Washington, where he made the rounds delivering the artwork and picking up new orders. WINTER 2000-200141 '."!4.;J ' '' ; -' '* * ' , ,,t^.. X' .. ... .t ' t i . ;: 3 i } .j).. ......!... v ! }[~i' i C (' I;?? *'?J-Ic: ! j i ?' *;S ' f ' *'* ' ' ;"i"\}4.t ' '..' 'j',l, ', ,:"' - The Original Sketch (which he drew on a train ride from New York to Philadelphia) ii T Dl'riai~ The Drawing - I The Blac - TneoB Pt -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,-10 - I L. The Black Transfer, or Base Plate - i: ?p , :s:~~~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ J; : Ed i 78he e Re Plt %? . THAT LIBERTY SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH BUY LIBERTY BONDS F O U RT H L-l E R"TY L-OAN The Putple Plate THAT LIBERTY SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH By LIBERTY BONDS oW. The Trial Proof Joseph Pennell's Frightening Vision hiladelphian Joseph Pennell (1857-1926), one of the artists in the Division of Pictorial Publicity, wrote several books about the making of art and illustrations. His publication Joseph Pennell's Liberty Loan Poster (1918) is a detailed tour through the creation of his Fourth Liberty Loan Drive poster. Pennell explains that producing a litho- graph is different from other types of print- ing in which raised or lowered surfaces (such as type or engraving) are pressed against a surface to create a reproduction of the original. In lithography, an illustration is made directly on (or transferred to) a flat surface of stone or metal, and a chemical process multiplies the image using a differ- ent plate for each color to create the final version. Because he was a fine artist, rather than a commercial illustrator, Pennell submitted this poster of New York Harbor as a fin- ished lithograph, rather than a final draw- ing. His original submission, he was quick to tell readers, did not use the legend we see here. Pennell was more to the point. He suggested the following legend, "BUY. LIB- ERTY BONDS OR YOU WILL SEE THIS." No one could accuse him of being indirect. PH 6030 ??? ? :, ? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:,?e >,.'. ""'-'. - A _a! zta i ;. _ 'j,* 'i,":~~~~ ~~~~~~ ,. '"i" t_ I ' {s #r < ;. j F;),jf ' :l. ? ;... ? :,:i _ d . [ - < ., t_. 5 y ,: ; MS h i , .' : PERI rS,; 1 ?a H FRO TE EA R F~ O U /-H I: .I s RTYA I, ~ ~~ r ; s . ts i - ~~~~~~~~..;> 9, ,>tre. _~ te$1 N Peris Tbe ier of esw :* :*9.,f :t ?. ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ t '.itk'',' i-~~ c ::~~~~~~~~~~: 1, ~~~~~~~~~oo. In poster for it mesue 28 x 4inhs :~~~~~~~~~~OI}I{PNNII.DL I` ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~?f.. !.?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_. "Tht ibrt ShllNo Prs from - thes Eath .Ieia erino h ose si a reeae eth PPcpt .isth ram ofPnel' riia ltorah f ot coor I pstror i masre 8 4 ichs PH 6030 The artists' plea for sacrifice and service Above: J.C. Leyendecker, known for his Arrow collar man and Cream of Wheat advertisements, produced this 20 x 291/2-inch poster for the U.S. Fuel Administration, asking citizens to plan their energy needs carefully. Above, right: "Slovakia is Rising" is this 25 x 36-inch poster. Voitech Pressig, the foreign-born head of the Wentworth Institute of Boston, direct- ed a group of art students to create the image for the New York-based Czechoslovakian Recruiting Office. Far right: K. Watkin 's 20 x 301/4-inch poster from the final bond drive reflects changes in transportation that would eventually become a part of civilian life, as airplanes began to PH 6030 overtake trains in power and importance. Inset, above: N. Nuytten's simple image of ambulance drivers in action makes a silent appeal to American men to join the fight in France. The American Field Service poster measures 221/2 x 34 inches. UZ 5LOVENSKOVSTAVA, PUTA SI STRHAVA: PH 6030 T11c VICTORY LOAN --fA-r?. I? AIRPLAN ./P ECIAP 6030,~ PH 6030 FOOD WILL WIN THE WARI You came here seeking Freedom You must now help to preserve it WHEAT is needed for the allies Waste nothing PH 6030 GIVE ORWE PERISH AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR RELIEF IN THE NEAR EAST ARNIENIA - G R : I: C- - SY R I A - P FRS IA CAMPAIGN ?w s30.000.000 PH 6030 Charles Edward Chambers's 20 x 30-inch poster (top) offers a lesson in civic responsibility, while Wladyslaw Theodore Benda 's romantic image (bottom, 22 x 33 inches) makes a succinct plea for help. The Author . _ ,, GEORGE L. VOGT has been the Director of the State Historical Society since 1996. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Yale College and a doctorate in American history from the University of Virginia in 1978. H Ij A _ A native of Illinois, George spent thirteen years working at the National Archives and was director of the South Carolina Department of Archives and Histo- ry for nine years before coming to Wisconsin. He lives in Madison. few are classics of the genre. The State Historical Society of Wis- consin holds a particularly distinguished and varied World War I poster collection that complements the Society's large and out- standing collections in the history of American advertising and mass communications. This collection-PH 6030, World War I Posters-includes more than 350 unique posters, created by 126 identified artists and many unidentified individuals. The posters appear in many languages, including English, French, German, Czech, and Spanish. There are seventeen different series within the collection, and 65 subseries, so patrons can find specific posters easily. I invite anyone who has an interest in this topic to contact the archives and plan a visit. IS:l Resources and Further Reading Currently, readers will find significantly more attention being paid to the posters of the Second World War than those of World War I. Readers interested in the art and impact of the earlier war, however, do have some resources. Walton H. Rawls's Wake Up, America!: World War I and the American Poster (New York: Abbeville Press, 1988) is the latest work on the poster art of World War I. Joseph Darracott's The First World War in Posters (New York: Dover Publications, Inc, 1974) offers a significant amount of information about more than seventy individual posters, as well as specif- ic biographical sketches of artists from both sides of the war. The best-known poster artist, Charles Dana Gibson, is the subject of the biography by Fairfax Davis Downey: Portrait of an Era As Drawn by CD. Gibson: A Biography (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936), while fine artist Joseph Pennell wrote his own book, Joseph Pennell's Liberty Loan Poster: A Text-Book for Artists and Amateurs, Gov- ernments and Teachers and Printers (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1918.) Readers who seek the commercial work of several well-known artists will find David Stivers's Nabisco Brands Collection of Cream of Wheat Advertising Art (San Diego: Collectors' Showcase, 1986) a rich and lushly illustrated resource. Background infor- mation about the Creel Committee appears in American Public Diplomacy: The Per- spective of Fift! Years (Medford, MA: Tufts University, 1967), Robert F. Delaney and John S. Gibson, editors. Finally, the Encyclopedia of American History (New York: Harper and Bros., 1953), Richard B. Morris, editor, serves as an excellent over- all reference.