World War I and World War II propaganda posters

The Brandeis University World War I and World War II Propaganda Posters Collection includes nearly a hundred different images with a variety of aims. Inspired by Western European examples, the creation and production of applicable pictorial publicity immediately gained a substantial level of artistic involvement and industrial application in the United States. The subjects of the posters included programs such as The United War Work Campaign, the Red Cross, and most notably the subscription of Liberty and Victory loans. Each of the four Liberty loan campaigns—the first and second in 1917, the third and fourth in 1918—and the Victory loan campaign of early 1919 created a vast amount of poster art on both the local and national levels.

Countless designs were created, the majority of which were printed in large quantities. Several artists were involved in the creation of the propaganda posters during the wars. Some of them were already widely known through their work in books, magazines, and advertising. This collection includes such famous artists as Howard Chandler Christy, James Montgomery Flagg, Adolph Treidler, Harrison Fisher, Casper Emerson Jr., Henry Patrick Raleigh, and Haskell Coffin, to name but a few; Edward Penfield is not included. The items are organized alphabetically, and the majority are from the World War I era.