World War I: Liberty Bond Posters

Louis Raemaekers.

After a Zeppelin raid in London : "But Mother Had Done Nothing Wrong, Had She, Daddy?" Prevent this in New York : Invest in Liberty Bonds. 19" x 12"

[Depicted: Grieving man in a chair by the bed of a deceased patient with a girl standing next to him; a nurse and a physician are in the background]

F. Strothmann.

Beat back the Hun with Liberty Bonds. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Purple German soldier (possessing a spiked helmet, bloody fingers and green eyes) looming on the horizon over smoking ruins; the sky is yellow-orange]

Button! Button! Who's got the Liberty Button? 10" x 30"

[Depicted: Text in blue and red bordered (above and below) in red, white and blue]

Buy Liberty Bonds : "That Government of the People, by the People, for the People Shall Not Perish from the Earth" : A. Lincoln [stylized signature]. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Pseudo-bronze plaque with text above and below a bust of Lincoln]

Walter Whitehead.

Come On! Buy More Liberty Bonds. [1918]. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Allied soldier standing over a dead German soldier whose helmet has fallen off; the background is predominantly yellow]

J. Allen St. John.

The Hun–His Mark : Blot it Out with Liberty Bonds. [1917]. 42 1/4" x 27"

[Depicted: Bloody handprint above text]

[Henry Patrick] Raleigh.

Hun or Home? Buy More Liberty Bonds. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Woman, with infant, looking behind her at a soldier (in a spiked helmet and with bloody hands) looming up from the landscape]

Invest! Invest! 4" x 24"

[Depicted: White text on a field of red]

Porter.

"It's awful lonesome round our house since Daddy's gone away–Please help bring him back to us" : Liberty Bonds Will Do it! : Buy Bonds to your Utmost : Ask your Foreman. 17 5/8" x 11 3/4"

[Depicted: Young boy (in military garb with toy gun) and girl by a window displaying a small flag [signifying that a member of the household is in the armed forces?]

John Norton.

Keep These Off the U.S.A. : Buy More Liberty Bonds. [1918] 40 1/4" x 30 1/4"

[Depicted: German eagles on pants legs above blood-stained boots]

Lend! 27 5/8" x 19 7/8"

[Depicted: White text on a field of red]

Lend! 17" x 42"

[Depicted: White text on a field of red bordered by two white stripes]

Sarka.[image copyright by Leslie's]

"Lend him a hand" : Buy Liberty bonds. [1918]. 19" x 12"

[Depicted: Allied soldier scaling the wall of a trench]

E.M. Ashe.

Lend the way they fight : Buy Bonds to your utmost. 41" x 27"

[Depicted: Allied soldier, standing above an occupied trench, about to lob a grenade]

Lend–the way they fight : Buy Liberty bonds to your utmost.

[Depicted: Text]

Let Uncle Sam take this–and he will pay back this–All he asks you to do is keep your bond : Buy Liberty bonds and keep them : Ask your foreman. [1918]. 17 5/8" x 11 3/4"

[Depicted: Text interrupted by illustrations in two circles: One with a bare arm giving a bag marked 5000 to two arms in a jacket (with stars) and the other with an arm in a jacket (with stars) placing a bag marked 5000 and 4 1/4% interest into two hands]

Liberty Bonds are fighting bonds : Buy them! 20 7/8" x 13 7/8"

[Depicted: Text in orange (or red?) and blue].

Make your dollars end the war : Your liberty your forefathers died for is at stake : If you can't fight your money can : Buy a Liberty Bond and Uncle Sam will do the rest. 1917. 38 1/8" x 24"

[Depicted: Text in red and blue ink]

Henry Patrick Raleigh.

Must children die and mothers plead in vain? Buy more Liberty bonds. 40" x 30 1/4"

[Depicted: Woman, with two small children, pointing off toward the unseen]

Pro-Prussian or pro-Pershing : Buy Liberty bonds. 10" x 30"

[Depicted: Text in blue and red bordered (above and below) in red, white and blue]

Joseph Pennell.

Provide the sinews of war : Buy Liberty Bonds. [1918]. 20" x 21"

[Depicted: Two docked battleships on either side of a busy pier (containing a train, various cranes, people, etc.)]

Louis Raemaekers.[image copyright 1917 by Brown, Robertson Co.]

Will you be ready to-morrow to make munitions for Germany? If not : invest in Liberty bonds to-day. [1917?] 19" x 12"

[Depicted: German officers detaining a bearded man at gunpoint]

G.R. Macauley.

You buy a Liberty bond lest I perish. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Stylized Statue of Liberty (torch in left hand) pointing at the viewer; there are circular Liberty Loan emblems (including text) in the lower corners]

Eugenie DeLand.

Before sunset : Buy a U.S. government bond of the 2nd Liberty Loan of 1917. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Text in the water in front of the Statue of Liberty (face slightly downcast) against a blue and (chiefly) red sky which resembles a U.S. flag]

By the President of the United States of America : A proclamation : The second Liberty Loan gives the people of the United States an opportunity to lend their funds to the government to sustain our country at war [. . .] Now, therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, do appoint Wednesday, the 24th of October, as Liberty Day [. . . .] 24 1/8" x 18"

[Depicted: Text in blue and red with a red, "white" and blue border; part of the text overlays a drawing (in red) of the Statue of Liberty]

Lend your money to the government : Buy a United States Government Bond : Second Liberty Loan of 1917 : U.S. Treasury will pay you interest every six months. 36 1/4" x 48"

[Depicted: People strolling near the U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, D.C.]

Dewey. Our daddy is fighting at the front for You. Back him up–Buy a United States gov't bond of the 2nd Liberty Loan of 1917. 29 7/8" x 20"

[Depicted: Young boy (in sailor suit) and girl; boy holds a U.S. flag]

Remember your first thrill of American Liberty : Your duty–Buy United States government bonds : 2nd Liberty Loan of 1917. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Immigrants and luggage on the deck of a ship (on its way to Ellis Island) near the Statue of Liberty]

Ring it again : Buy a United States government bond of the second Liberty Loan of 1917 : Help your country and yourself. 30" x 19 7/8"

[Depicted: Text above and below the Liberty Bell]

Dan Sayre Groesbeck.

"Shall we be more tender with our dollars than with the lives of our sons" WG McAdoo. [stylized signature] Secretary of the Treasury : Buy a United States government bond of the 2nd Liberty Loan of 1917. 29 5/8" x 20"

[Depicted: Uncle Sam (his left hand formed into a fist and his right arm outstretched toward the viewer) in front of massed troops in formation (from which a U.S. flag protrudes) beyond which are ships in New York harbor (around the Statue of Liberty); cruciform airplanes are in the sky]

Frances Adams Halsted.

She does not ask for contributions : She asks you to invest your money at 4% in U.S. government bonds. 21" x 14"

[Depicted: Woman in a white flowing robe, sandals and a Liberty cap holding aloft a torch (in her left hand) and carrying a Liberty Loan document (in her right hand); she stands atop a sphere, flanked by U.S. flags, in front of which is a bald eagle]

"The time has come to conquer or submit [. . . .]"–President Wilson. / Buy a bond of the 2nd Liberty Loan and help win the war : A Liberty Bond is a United States government bond. [1917]. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Pseudo-bronze plaque framing text below patriotic symbols (at the sides) and a portrait of Wilson]

The United States 4% government bond is in the army : Do you want to save this way? Bonds may be bought at all bureaus in camp and may be left in safe deposit here.30" x 20"

[Depicted: Blue and red text within a red, white and blue border]

R.H. Porteous.

Women! Help America's sons win the war : Buy U.S. government bonds: 2nd Liberty Loan of 1917. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Light-haired woman with outstretched arms beneath a patriotic banner (based on the U.S. flag) pulled back at the sides to reveal war scenes at sea (left) and on land (right)]

Stern. Are you 100% American? Prove it! Buy U.S. government bonds: Third Liberty Loan : U.S. Treasury will pay interest every six months. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Text with eagle, flanked by bunting and smoking guns, at the top; bunting (incorporating the interest statement) is also present at the bottom]

Don't forget that the government does not ask you to give anything . . . You are asked to LEND your money to the government. You receive a Liberty bond for your money. A Liberty bond is Uncle Sam's promise to pay that money back to you and to pay you interest for the use of it. Ask your foreman about the 3rd Liberty loan. 17 ½" x 11 5/8"

[Depicted: Text in black (?) on a field of orange (outlined in blue and white) surrounded by a field of blue (with stars in the upper left and lower right corners).

Howard Chandler Christy.

Fight or buy bonds : Third Liberty Loan. 40" x 30"

[Depicted: Young woman (Columbia?) with flowing hair (and a flag in her raised arm) in front of massed troops]

Lawrence S. Harris.

"Good bye, Dad, I'm off to fight for Old Glory, You buy U.S. gov't bonds" : Third Liberty Loan. 29 7/8" x 20"

[Depicted: Soldier in uniform (at right) shaking hands with a white-haired man (with a beard and moustache) wearing a vest and bow tie; in the background are several farm fields and associated buildings]

Raleigh.

Halt the Hun! Buy U.S. government bonds : Third Liberty Loan. 29 1/4" x 20"

[Depicted: Allied soldier (right hand holding a white sword) with his left arm at the throat of a bent-over German soldier (in a spiked helmet and with a black gun and red hands) who is menacing a woman and her infant.]

How long and how well could you work without this (arrow & drawing labeled "food") or this (drawing labeled "pay") or these (drawing labeled "tools") or this (drawing labeled "warm and dry clothing") : Remember that the money you invest in Liberty bonds is used to buy food – clothing – fighting tools for our soldiers and to fill their pay envelopes : Ask your foreman about the 3rd Liberty Loan. 17 5/8" x 11 5/8"

[Depicted: Four line drawings (each with white text) within orange circles (outlined in black) on a white sheet printed in black ink]

My daddy bought me a government bond of the third Liberty Loan : Did yours? 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Smiling young girl, with ribbon in her hair, who is clutching a government bond]

H.H. Green.

My soldier : Now I lay me down to sleep / [. . .] / God bless my brother gone to war / Across the seas, in France, so far. / [. . . .] / Buy United States government bonds : Third Liberty Loan. 41 3/4" x 28"

[Depicted: Text above and below a circular image depicting a child praying in front of a woman who supports the child's arms; in the view a picture of a uniformed soldier (the brother) is on the wall; the background consists of a field of blue at the top (with two airplanes) above alternating red and white columns]

Victor Perard.

One two three : Now, all together! Third Liberty Loan. ["Supplement to Electrical World, March 30, 1918"]. 11 7/8" x 8 3/4"

[Depicted: Uncle Sam coaching people (workers, a sailor, a nurse, etc.) pulling on a rope attached (across open water) to a tilting statue of a German military man (the Kaiser?) which is under dark clouds and in front of a burning land; the rope system actually uses pulleys and part of it is anchored to the base of the Statue of Liberty (facing across the sea), behind which is a bright sky from the rising sun]

Sidney H. Riesenberg.

Over the top for you : Buy U.S. gov't Bonds : Third Liberty Loan. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Youthful soldier, largely surrounded by a U.S. flag, advancing toward the viewer]

Remember! The flag of Liberty : Support it! Buy U.S. government bonds : 3rd. Liberty Loan. 30" x 20 1/8"

[Depicted: Mustachioed man with a hat over his heart in front of others (all are immigrants?) who collectively stand in front of a ship (partly visible in the upper left) and the U.S. flag (partly visible in the upper right)]

Ring it again : Buy U.S. gov't bonds : Third Liberty Loan. 29 7/8" x 20"

[Depicted: Liberty Bell (in sky) and Independence Hall (with the bell ringing) surrounded by a crowd in Colonial garb]

James Montgomery Flagg.

Say folks! If you lend us a hand now, then you won't be ashamed to meet us with the good old hand-shake when we get our job finished. From us. Ask your foreman about the 3rd Liberty Loan. 17 ½" x 11 5/8"

[Depicted: Heads of a soldier (left) and of a sailor (right) above black text on a white background (the letter) surrounded by an orange border (incorporating the text "Ask your foreman. . . ." in white at the bottom)]

Herbert Paus.

To make the world a decent place to live in : Do your part–Buy U.S. government bonds : Third Liberty Loan. 36" x 56"

[Depicted: Allied troops, at and behind a gun emplacement, against a red sky; a U.S. flag flies in the background]

J[oseph] C[hristian] Leyendecker.

U.S.A. bonds : Third Liberty Loan campaign : Boy Scouts of America. 29 7/8" x 20"

[Depicted: Boy Scout handing up a sword (inscribed "Be prepared") to a stylized warrior carrying a shield (with an eagle design) who is draped in a robe resembling the U.S. flag]

You can help to can the Kaiser by lending your money to the government : Ask your foreman about the 3rd Liberty Loan. 17 ½" x 11 5/8"

[Depicted: Text in black and orange on a field of white (bordered in black and orange) above a drawing of a German soldier (evidently the Kaiser in military uniform) sunk into a large metal canister]

C. LeRoy Baldridge.

The A.E.F. to the President: "If the folks back home fall short [. . .] call on us for the balance [. . . .]" : Fourth Liberty Loan. Heading: Straight from the trenches.Originated and produced for the Liberty Loan Committee entirely by members of the American Expeditionary Force. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Sketch of a standing soldier]

Howard Chandler Christy.

Clear-the-way-!! Buy bonds : Fourth Liberty Loan. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Sailors attending to a ship's gun with an officer off to one side (holding binoculars) and waterspouts from fired shells visible in the sea; there is also a young woman (Columbia?) in the space above the ship with her arms outstretched and a U.S. flag behind her]

Scott Williams. [possibly with an added first initial of J. or V.]

For victory, buy more bonds: Fourth Liberty Loan. 36" x 56"

[Depicted: Allegorical figure, draped in a U.S. flag, with a sword and shield (possibly Columbia?) in front of a bald eagle and troops (in silhouette) marching in the background under a dark sky]

Honor Roll : The following patriotic men and women in this organization have bought bonds of the 4th Liberty Loan. 27" x 19 5/8"

[Depicted: Text above and below a flag (four vertical blue bars on a white field bordered by red) with 100 numbered spaces for names beneath]

Is your name on the honor roll? Fourth Liberty Loan. 5" x 30"

[Depicted: Text in blue and red]

C. LeRoy Baldridge.

Pvt. Treptow's pledge : [. . .] "I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost [. . . .]" : You who are not called upon to die–Subscribe to the fourth Liberty Loan. Heading: Straight from the trenches. Originated and produced for the Liberty Loan Committee entirely by members of the American Expeditionary Force. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Sketch of a dead soldier with ruins beyond him]

Ellsworth Young.

Remember Belgium : Buy bonds : Fourth Liberty Loan. 30" x 20"

[Depicted: Silhouette of a German soldier (with a moustache and wearing a spiked helmet) leading a disheveled young woman; a city burns in the (predominantly green) background]

Joseph Pennell.

That liberty shall not perish from the earth : Buy Liberty Bonds : Fourth Liberty Loan. 40 7/8" x 30"

[Depicted: New York City ablaze beyond a decapitated Statue of Liberty]

Think! Have you bought your limit? 4th Liberty Loan. 42 1/4" x 28", 42 1/4" x 27" and 42 1/4" x 27" [3 sections; unassembled]

[Depicted: Text (in blue and red) within red, white and blue border]

Think–Have you bought your limit? Fourth Liberty Loan. 7" x 60"

[Depicted: Text in blue and red]

4th Liberty Loan / Boy Scouts as "gleaners" / "Buy another bond" / October 12th to 19th. 7 3/4" x 20"

[Depicted: Text in black ink]

Wear your fourth Liberty Loan honor button: 4th Liberty Loan bonds. 13 7/8" x 11"

[Depicted: Text above and below an image of a button bearing an image of a flag (four vertical bars on a field of white bordered in red)]

Edwin F. Bayha.

Put this flag in your house and back up the boys in France: Buy your own Liberty Bond.The spirit of women is the power behind the Army. (Illustration courtesy of "Modern Priscilla".) s.l.: Woman's Liberty Loan Committee of New England, 1918.

[Depicted: A wistful young woman hangs a small flag in her window]

Howard Chandler Christy.

Americans all! Honor Roll : DuBois : Smith : O'Brien : Cejka : [etc.] : Victory Liberty Loan. 40" x 26 7/8"

[Depicted: Woman looking upward (standing at the left) in front of a U.S. flag and holding aloft a laurel wreath in her left hand; a list of surnames is included (in a column at the right)]

Vic Forsythe.

And they thought we couldn't fight : Victory Liberty Loan. 41 1/8" x 30 3/8"

[Depicted: Wounded but cheerful Allied soldier standing on a former battlefield (the land and sky are predominantly blue) with a rifle over his shoulder and three German helmets in his hands]

Alfred Everitt Orr.

For home and country : Victory Liberty Loan. 39 7/8" x 29 7/8"

[Depicted: Standing soldier with his left arm holding a child and his right arm around a woman who is looking up at him]

[After Beneker]

It is just like taking money out of one of your pockets and putting it into the other : The money you lend to the government you still have–and it's earning interest. How long will your money stay with you and grow–if you do not invest it? Invest again in the Victory Liberty Loan. 19 3/4" x 14"

[Depicted: Text in blue and black beneath a man in overalls reaching into his pocket and a semi-circular arrow pointing to his other pocket]

Gerrit A. Beneker.

Sure! We'll finish the job. Victory Liberty Loan. 38" x 25 7/8"

[Depicted: Man in overalls (with four Liberty Loan pins attached) reaching into his pocket]

L.A. Shafer.

They kept the sea lanes open : Invest in the Victory Liberty Loan. 29 3/8" x 39 1/8"

[Depicted: Damaged submarine (with people on top) in the ocean in front of a warship (flying the U.S. flag) which is protecting a passenger liner (at the left)]

C. LeRoy Baldridge.

To the folks back home :–We are finishing our job. Are you finishing yours? Private A.E.F. On the Rhine 1919. Invest! Victory Liberty Loan. 29 3/4" x 19 7/8"

[Depicted: Standing Allied soldier with his gun in front of him]

V : Invest. 29 ½" x 19 ½ "

[Depicted: Blue "V" above "Invest" (in white) on a field of red bordered in white and blue]

V : Invest. 20 7/8" x 54"

[Depicted: "Invest" in white letters above a white "V" (only the top and bottom are visible) across a red diamond on a field of blue bordered in red and white; at the sides an Allied soldier (standing at the left) and a U.S. sailor (standing at the right) lean on the first and last letters of "Invest"]

V : Invest! 24" x 24"

[Depicted: "Invest" in white letters above a white "V" bordered in blue (only the top and bottom are visible) on a red diamond on a field of white]

You must help to build the bridge if you expect to get across : Your own prosperity depends upon the prosperity of the whole country : Invest your dollars in the Victory Liberty Loan. 19 3/4" x 14"

[Depicted: Unfinished masonry bridge (labeled "Victory Liberty Loan") over water and opposite a distant shore (labeled "national prosperity"); additional text (in blue and black) is present at the bottom]

Monographs of Related Interest Held by the Rutgers University Libraries

• Cork, Richard. A Bitter Truth: Avant-Garde Art and the Great War. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.

• George C. Marshall Research Foundation. Posters of World War I and World War II in the George C. Marshall Research Foundation. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, c1979.

• Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. Persuasive Images: Posters of War and Revolution from the Hoover Institution. Princeton: Princeton University, 1992.

• Rawls, Walton. Wake Up, America!: World War I and the American Poster. New York: Abbeville Press, c1988.

Externally Held Web Resources

• Rudolph, G. A. War Posters from 1914 through 1918 in the Archives of the University of Nebraska--Lincoln. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1990.
• Posters from the Great War - From "Trenches on the Web: An Internet History of the Great War," maintained by the Great War Society.
• World War One: Thirty Thousand Women Were There