Grayson Collins and Shelbey Devine

Project 2 - Rough Draft

Dr. Wickliff
English 4274

War Propaganda Posters Project

The two images that we selected were created as posters to persuade citizens to
contribute to the war funding efforts, as people would buy war bonds, which were like a
loan to the government. The history of the posters we selected are from in WWII era.
This era falls between the years of 1939-1945. There was much fear of German Nazi
takeover, or home invasion (such as the war coming to American grounds. There was
also much invoking of fear, responsibility, and patriotism through these posters to the
American people, to encourage those that were at home and not fighting abroad to
support the war from home and help bring their families home.
This poster was released in 1942 and was created by Lawrence Beal Smith and
was created for the US department of Treasury, specifically. Although this poster has
been mass-produced, the initial image can be found in the Library of Congress. It was
originally published in Washington D.C. in the U.S. Government Printing Office for the

purpose of influencing the WWII era American citizens to support the war by buying war
bonds. Now, one can see this poster reproduced as a representation of the time period
and American history, altogether. The second poster we are researching, Till We Meet
Again was created by Joseph Hirsch for the US War Savings Staff in 1942. It is a part
of the World War Poster Collection as well as the World War Two Collection. It is
currently held University of North Texas (UNT) Digital Library, but it was originally
published in Washington D.C. in the U.S. Government Printing Office.
War Bond propaganda posters were a huge part of advertising during World War
II. This classic World War II propaganda poster invokes a strong perspective on ethos,
pathos, and logos through underlying rhetorical themes. The poster features three young
children standing outside within the rims of a swastika symbol. The poster reads, Dont
Let That Shadow Touch Them Buy War Bonds. This hits both the ethos and pathos that
the poster aims to accomplish. Children remain society's most innocent and vulnerable
being, this is why they are always terrifyingly subjected to play in the creepiest horror
films. People see children as honest and untainted. They havent lived long enough to
excrete the horror of the world. The visual representation of the three children on the
poster under the horrifying swastika co-developed with the strong verbal representation
symbolizes that these kids could be your own. To put an even stronger emphasis on this
message the children appear with classic toys of paper hats, airplanes, and dolls, the
children that could be your own are so innocent and unaware of the danger that lurks
behind them of the Nazi attacks. Another aspect that evolves pathos, is the idea of
patriotism. The idea behind the symbolize of war, Nazis, and the American flag
encourages viewer to feel the need to stand up for their country. The logos conveyed in
this image revolves around the symbols of war and America that encourages viewers to
purchase War Bonds. The War Bonds claim to hold power that will keep the children and
people of America safe.

The major aspect of this selection of images is the impact or influence that it is
attempting to have on viewers. These images were based on the assumption or
impression that the US was in war and was therefore in a national crisis and in need of
help from the citizens within the nation. Fear, concern of the nations status, and hope
for future success within the nation are all themes that we will embody within our project
on this selection of images. The United States used posters to advertise war bonds and
gather support for WWII, and produced more propaganda posters than any other country
fighting in World War II. Almost 200,000 different designs were printed during the war.
We are researching two specifically, within these 200,000 but we are also are
researching and considering the collection of posters as a whole, especially since there
is so much similarity in the printing processes of the posters. The original illustrations of
the two posters were created by two artists Lawrence Beal Smith, Dont Let That
Shadow Touch Them and Joseph Hirsch, Till We Meet Again. These two artists
created both of these works specifically for the US Department of Treasury for their use
of advertising the need of War Bonds to the US public as propaganda posters. Both of
these posters were published in Washington D.C. in the U.S. Government Printing
Office. Some of Smiths original lithographs, paintings and, sculptures are included in
the permanent collections of major galleries, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York, The Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge, the University of Chicago, and the
Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Joseph Hirsch was a realist painter whose work
was often socially oriented and imbued with humanism. During World War II, he created
many war-related posters, while he served as an artist-correspondent for the U.S.
government.
Photography was used to get the painting to print, then rollers with ink were used
to make copies of them. They would also add fine particles of clay in paper production
to the processes to prevent the inks/ dyes from bleeding onto other surfaces. The

particles of clay would absorb the ink and hold it in the paper, making it sealed better
within the paper. Johannes Gutenberg invented the handbill that allowed for printing and
advertising. This invention was created in 1450 and later improved in 1796. This started
the lithographic process which started the illustrated poster. An analogy for this type of
technology leading to the development of the posters would be like the flip phones
invention leading to an iPhone - the changes were drastic, but they were definitely the
stepping stones for the 1940s technology that created the posters. The process was
very long and consisted of many things to ensure the poster were sustainable. The
posters were needed in places where they would be viewed the most. They were placed
where there was a high volume of drivers and people walking around, this is when
billboards were needed. The billboards were originally roadside advertising. People
would paint posters on walls and fences so bypasses would know that their organization
was close by and sold certain items. In 1835, the largest poster was more than 50
square feet, this was advertising for the circus. Public service advertising was very
encouraged in 1913 and placing this on billboards is still very popular. During World
War, the need to support war efforts was huge. Propaganda posters appeared
everywhere trying to encourage people to buy war bonds.

Sources:
http://www.oaaa.org/about/historyofooh.aspx
http://search.time.com/?q=WWII+posters&site=time
http://rogallery.com/Smith_Lawrence/Smith_Lawrence-bio.html
https://www.loc.gov/item/2015647884/
http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc447/
https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-historyand-archives/gi-roundtable-series/pamphlets/what-is-propaganda/thestory-of-propaganda
http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1682.html