• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ransom Center Magazine

  • Articles
  • Sections
    • Art
    • Books + Manuscripts
    • Conservation
    • Exhibitions + Events
    • Film
    • Literature
    • Photography
    • Research + Teaching
    • Theatre + Performing Arts
  • Print Edition

World War I poster collection

Explore World War I propaganda posters online

April 10, 2014 - Elizabeth Lovero

Sem (1863–1934). “Pour la liberté du monde. Souscrivez á l'Emprunt National á la Banque Nationale de Crédit.” [For the freedom of the world. Subscribe to the National Loan at the Banque Nationale de Crédit.] 1917. Lithograph. 119 x 77 cm.

The Ransom Center recently launched a new platform of digital collections on its website, which includes the World War I poster collection. More than 120 items from that collection, including the posters highlighted in this blog post, can be viewed on the new platform. Some of these posters can also be seen in the current exhibition The World at War 1914–1918.

In the era before broadcast radio and television, posters were one of the simplest and most powerful ways to coerce or inform the public. During the First World War, all the major powers produced posters to convey messages rapidly and efficiently. Some of the most successful paired compelling imagery and bright visceral color with appeals to emotion, patriotism, and duty. As an American artist said, “The poster should be to the eye what the command is to the ear.”

The Ransom Center’s World War I poster collection illuminates the lived experience of the war from the point of view of everyday people worldwide. Lithographs in English, French, German, and Russian illustrate a wide spectrum of sentiments from military boosterism to appeals for public austerity. (English translations of foreign-language poster titles are available in the description of each item.) The posters document geo-political events and the social and economic transformations set in motion by the war. The role of women, new technologies, international aid, wartime economy, and food supply all feature prominently in the collection.

The majority of the posters in the Center’s collection are authentic lithographs. Discovered in the late eighteenth century, the techniques of lithography reached a golden age during the First World War. In the modern four-color process, combinations of colors are separated using photographic filters into four primary colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. To print lithographs, colored ink is added to printing “stones” in solids and patterns. The ink only adheres to marks on the wet stone made by a greasy crayon. Early lithographs featured simple blocks of solid colors. By the turn of the century, artists harnessed overlay and blending to create more subtle visual effects.

The World War I poster collection features many works by notable artists who applied their talents to the war effort. Among them, the French caricaturist Georges Goursat (1863–1934), known as Sem, stands out for his skillful application of lithographic techniques to create sumptuous gradients of color and shadow. His poster Pour la liberté du monde depicts the Statue of Liberty, a gift to the United States from the people of France, appearing on the horizon over the Atlantic Ocean. In the soft pink and yellow sky, a new day is dawning, and Lady Liberty emerges from shadow. It is no coincidence that the French name for the Statue, La Liberté éclairant le monde, translates to “Liberty lighting the world.”

Produced in 1917 shortly after the United States entered into the war, Sem’s poster suggests that the American soldiers will turn the tides of battle and bring liberty to Europe. The artist conveys most of his message wordlessly. The text urges support through the purchase of a war bond: For the liberty of the world. Subscribe to the National Loan at the National Credit Bank. Pour la liberté du monde pairs artistry and symbolism to rouse support among the war-fatigued French public.

Explore the World War I poster collection to see more examples of artists using lithography to transform political ideas into persuasive compositions of image and text.

Please click on thumbnails below to view larger images.

Unknown artist. “Soglasie” (“согласие”). 1915. [Agreement or Triple Entente]. Lithograph. 71 x 54 cm.
Unknown artist. “Soglasie” (“согласие”). 1915. [Agreement or Triple Entente]. Lithograph. 71 x 54 cm.
Sem (1863–1934). “Pour la liberté du monde. Souscrivez á l'Emprunt National á la Banque Nationale de Crédit.” [For the freedom of the world. Subscribe to the National Loan at the Banque Nationale de Crédit.] 1917. Lithograph. 119 x 77 cm.
Sem (1863–1934). “Pour la liberté du monde. Souscrivez á l’Emprunt National á la Banque Nationale de Crédit.” [For the freedom of the world. Subscribe to the National Loan at the Banque Nationale de Crédit.] 1917. Lithograph. 119 x 77 cm.
Lucille Patterson. “Service. National League for Women's Service. Fall In!” ca. 1914–1918. Lithograph. 63.5 x 44 cm.
Lucille Patterson. “Service. National League for Women’s Service. Fall In!” ca. 1914–1918. Lithograph. 63.5 x 44 cm.
Z. P. Nikolaki. “Hello! This is Liberty speaking.” 1918. Lithograph. 30.5 x 22.5 cm.
Z. P. Nikolaki. “Hello! This is Liberty speaking.” 1918. Lithograph. 30.5 x 22.5 cm.
Unknown artist. “The Hun is still watching!” 1917. Lithograph. 28 x 53.5 cm.
Unknown artist. “The Hun is still watching!” 1917. Lithograph. 28 x 53.5 cm.
Ellsworth Young. “Remember Belgium. Buy bonds.” 1918. Lithograph. 77 x 51 cm.
Ellsworth Young. “Remember Belgium. Buy bonds.” 1918. Lithograph. 77 x 51 cm.
James Allen St. John (1872–1957). “The Hun. His mark. Blot it out with Liberty Bonds.” 1917. Lithograph. 76.5 x 50 cm.
James Allen St. John (1872–1957). “The Hun. His mark. Blot it out with Liberty Bonds.” 1917. Lithograph. 76.5 x 50 cm.
William P. King. “Hold up your end!” ca. 1914–1918. Lithograph. 70 x 51.5 cm.
William P. King. “Hold up your end!” ca. 1914–1918. Lithograph. 70 x 51.5 cm.
Harry R. Hopps (1869–1937). “Destroy This Mad Brute. Enlist - U.S. Army.” 1917. Lithograph. 106 x 71 cm.
Harry R. Hopps (1869–1937). “Destroy This Mad Brute. Enlist – U.S. Army.” 1917. Lithograph. 106 x 71 cm.
August William Hutaf (1879–1942). “Treat 'em rough. Join the tanks.” 1917. Lithograph. 104 x 70 cm.
August William Hutaf (1879–1942). “Treat ’em rough. Join the tanks.” 1917. Lithograph. 104 x 70 cm.

Filed Under: Art, Digital Collections, Exhibitions + Events Tagged With: digital collection, Georges Goursat, propaganda posters, Sem, World War I, World War I poster collection

Primary Sidebar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4_kazYMjNM

Recent Posts

  • Celebrate with us in 2023
  • Photographer Laura Wilson delves into the lives of writers with stunning portraits
  • A childhood gift inspires a lifelong passion for India and map-collecting
  • “Dog” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
  • A Greek fragment is the first-known New Testament papyrus written on the front side of a scroll

Tags

acquisition Alice's Adventures in Wonderland archive archives Art Books Cataloging Conservation Council on Library and Information Resources David Foster Wallace David O. Selznick digitization exhibition Exhibitions Fellows Find Fellowships Film Frank Reaugh Frank Reaugh: Landscapes of Texas and the American West Gabriel Garcia Marquez Gabriel Garcia Marquez archive Gone with the Wind I have seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America Lewis Carroll literature Magnum Photos Manuscripts Meet the Staff Nobel Prize Norman Bel Geddes Norman Mailer Performing Arts Photography poetry preservation Publishing Research Robert De Niro Shakespeare theater The King James Bible: Its History and Influence The Making of Gone With The Wind Undergraduate What is Research? World War I

Archives

Before Footer

Sign up for eNews

Our monthly newsletter highlights news, exhibitions, and programs.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About

Ransom Center Magazine is an online and print publication sharing stories and news about the Harry Ransom Center, its collections, and the creative community surrounding it.

Copyright © 2023 Harry Ransom Center

Web Accessibility · Web Privacy