I was doing some research for the WWI Poster essay and found images of these posters online. It may just be me, but I didn't see anything like these in Special Collections. A lot of the posters we looked at were glossing over the true nature of the war, either presenting young soldiers as fit, healthy and happy or dramatizing their noble sacrifices. The women in the posters were all doing their part and the goal it seemed, was to mobilize different nations towards action.

In these images there appears to be definite elements of desperation and fear. The soldier in the first poster is literally in the middle of a battle and supposedly, if passersby do not buy a bond, that soldier will get shot because he is out of ammunition. The second poster I found to be far more disturbing, just because of the fear that I think it was supposed to generate. The women in the posters are alleged patriots who appear to be doing something for the war efforts, minus the fact that they are being silenced. Espionage! Now Punishable!

Again, it may just be me, but seeing images like these as opposed to a lot of the picturesque images we saw in Special Collections was fairly jarring. I don't think I truly realized how abrasive WWI propaganda posters were until now.