It's been said the pen is mightier than the sword, and World War I posters relied on that fact to pump up the war effort and elicit support. The posters used short, blunt statements to drive home their patriotic messages. Coupled with drawings that couldn't fail to tug on a viewer's heartstrings, the posters drew a passerby's eye quickly and then drove their messages home. Intended to strongly persuade. World War I posters are considered propaganda.
History
Lithography, the printing process used to create World War I posters, had been in use for many years before the start of the war in 1914. Countries relied on lithography because it was an economical way to mass-produce, and the posters could be printed in color. Although the process was invented in 1798, it wasn't until the 1870s that it became used widely, beginning in France. Before World War I, posters were the province of artists, with poster shows held in large cities across Europe. After the conflict broke out, posters became a means of propaganda and later a favored form of advertising.
Expert Insight
Because so many World War I posters were produced, they often are not considered valuable. Just in the United States, about 20 million posters were made in more than 2,000 different designs. However, some World War I posters made in Canada had a print run of just 200. "Thousands of designs were created, and most of them were printed in very large numbers," says George M. Barringer of the Georgetown University Library. "As a result, very few of these posters are scarce even today, and only a small handful might qualify as 'rare.'"
Function
Many of the artists who created World War I posters donated their time and talent. Their messages were meant to encourage enlistment or increase the purchase of war bonds. Others encouraged thriftiness, the donation of blood or some other action that would have been needed by the various government offices that sponsored their creation. For example, one poster features the silhouettes of large crosses on a hillside. It says, "They give their lives. Do you lend your savings?" Posters helped raise billions of dollars before end of the war in 1918 with slogans such as this one: "Fight or Buy Bonds."
Geography
Whether from North America or Europe, each country that fought had its own World War I posters. In addition to the United States and Canada, the others included Great Britain, Belgium, Australia, Russia, France and Italy. Australians also were urged by their government to enlist with postcards admonishing them to "Hurry!" But Germany, where conscription was standard practice, did not push recruitment as heavily as some other countries. Russia, too, did not rely heavily on such recruitment practices.
Types
Like other countries, Canada's World War I posters encouraged men to join the military and the public in general to purchase bonds. But unlike other countries, Canada's posters sometimes were slanted according to ethnicity. Specific designs were aimed at Canadians whose families hailed originally from Ireland or Scotland. Others were directed specifically at French Canadians. Also, some poster designs were printed in two languages, English and French.
