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  1. Home
  2. Past Exhibits
  3. American Icons of the Great War
Apr 11, 2013 - Dec 07, 2013

American Icons of the Great War

Drawn exclusively from the Pritzker Military Museum & Library’s extensive collections of posters and other printed material, the six-part, 27-image exhibition tells the story of the role that art and artists played in persuading everyone in America, not only the men in uniform, to join the fight for victory.

Introduction
American Library Association
Hey Fellows!
Knowledge Wins
Load Him Up Again!
We Want Books
Yanks in Germany Want More Books
Christy Girl
Gee!! I Wish I Were a Man
I Want You for the Navy
Columbia
Americans All!
Clear the Way!!
The Navy Needs You!
Columbia Calls
They Shall Not Perish
Doughboy
Send Smokes To Sammy!
Our Regular Divisions
Civilians
And They Thought We Couldn’t Fight
Uncle Sam
I Want YOU For the U.S. Army
BEWARE of the Wrath of a Patient Man!
Side By Side – Britannia!
BOYS and GIRLS

American Icons of the Great War

Introduction

World War I was the first American conflict in which the government made extensive use of images, in the form of posters, placards, and other materials, to recruit troops and rally home support for the war effort.

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American Library Association

American Library Association

In 1917, as the United States mobilized for war, the American Library Association (ALA) identified the need for libraries on training bases.

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Hey Fellows!

Hey Fellows!

The American Library Association collaborated with seven other organizations to raise money to help troops.

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Knowledge Wins

Knowledge Wins

The American Library Association created occupational reading lists for soldiers returning to civilian life.

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Load Him Up Again!

Load Him Up Again!

Created by Charles B. Falls, this image became the symbol of the American Library Association book drives.

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We Want Books

We Want Books

The Library War Service provided United States servicemen with books during World War I.

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Yanks in Germany Want More Books

Yanks in Germany Want More Books

The Library War Service built the American Library in Paris during World War I.

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Christy Girl

Christy Girl

Born in Progressive Era United States, the “Christy Girl” represented the ideal “New Woman” at the turn of the twentieth century.

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Gee!! I Wish I Were a Man

Howard Chandler Christy created the "Christy Girl".

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I Want You for the Navy

I Want You for the Navy

Howard Chandler Christy envisioned young women of the early twentieth century in an idealized way.

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Columbia

Columbia

The Romanesque goddess known as Columbia personifies America in popular culture.

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Americans All!

During World War I, half a million immigrants of forty-six different nationalities were drafted into United States military service.

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Clear the Way!!

Clear the Way!!

In the artistic hands of Howard Chandler Christy, Columbia takes on the stylized form of the “Christy Girl”. 

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The Navy Needs You!

The Navy Needs You!

The Mayor’s Committee on National Defense was a mostly volunteer organization whose mission was to aid the city of New York in any war related activities.

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The Navy Needs You!

Columbia Calls

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They Shall Not Perish

They Shall Not Perish

The American Committee for Relief in the Near East raised funds and supported aid to peoples devastated by the conflicts in the Ottoman Empire before, during, and briefly after World War I. 

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Doughboy

Doughboy

By 1917, the image of the doughboy was well known even if the nickname was not yet in widespread use.

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Send Smokes To Sammy!

 In 1917, cigarettes became a part of soldier’s rations.

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Our Regular Divisions

The American Expeditionary Force in World War I consisted of the Regular Army, the National Army, and the National Guard

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Civilians

Civilians

Organized in response to World War I (1914-1918), the Jewish Welfare Board enlisted rabbis to serve as chaplains, created an abridged prayer book, and reconciled the various sects of Judaism for service in the military.

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And They Thought We Couldn’t Fight

And They Thought We Couldn’t Fight

Propaganda for the Victory Liberty Loan stated the money was to be used to bring the soldiers home and take care of them upon return.

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Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam

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I Want YOU For the U.S. Army

I Want YOU For the U.S. Army

The "I Want YOU for the U.S. Army" poster features the world’s most well-known physical representation of Uncle Sam.

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BEWARE of the Wrath of a Patient Man!

BEWARE of the Wrath of a Patient Man!

The War Savings Stamps and Liberty Bond campaigns asked people to promise to buy a certain number of bonds over time. 

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Side By Side – Britannia!

Side By Side – Britannia!

This James Montogomery Flagg poster depicts Uncle Sam with Britannia, a quasi-mythical female personification of Britain.

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BOYS and GIRLS

At the cost of only 25¢, War Savings Stamps were designed to encourage children and the poor to contribute to the war effort.

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