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Print Collection 12: The Posters

On ne passe pas!, Maurice Neumont

Once hostilities between Germany and the Allies had begun, an especially important development in the poster's history was able to take place. Bavarian limestone that had previously been used in the lithographic drafting process came to be behind enemy lines for the Allies. It was the lack of this material, argues historian Maurice Rickards, that triggered the introduction of lithographic zinc and aluminum in much of Western Europe, making printing faster and easier. The poster had the added benefit of being accessible to the majority of the population. With its simplicity and emotional impact, it ensured easy comprehension, while its history of popularity in the late nineteenth century legitimized it as an art-form among the elites. Since the First World War, the poster's use as a vehicle for mass communication by government has never been equaled.

Rickards divides the publication of wartime propaganda posters into four stages, starting with the appeal for enlistment. In Britain and Canada, where a draft was not in place until 1916, government agencies produced the largest volume of recruitment posters. Also beginning in the earliest phases of the war and lasting throughout, all nations produced posters with an appeal for monetary contributions in the form of war loans. The second phase of poster production called for relief for soldiers, for example through injunctions to save wine and tobacco. Next arrived posters calling for help for the wounded, orphans and refugees and enjoining further sacrifice from civilians. Finally, as a shortage of munitions and workers set in, posters called for women to work in factories, for factories to increase production and for vital materials to be conserved.

Charities, banks and other organizations functioned as unofficial branches of the government during the war, producing many of their own posters, intermingling patriotic imagery with calls for donations, volunteers and loan subscriptions. Given their close relationship with advertising and their persuasive intent, propaganda posters could not be expected to realistically depict the war. The posters tended to emphasize optimism, heroism and national pride over the realities of trench warfare. Posters for the Red Cross and other aid organizations, however, did use depictions of the wounded and refugees in their appeals for help.

The Collection's posters are mainly French, German and American, though some British, Italian and Canadian posters are also included. See more about the posters in the Collection.

Back to Print Collection 12: WWI Printed Media and Art