Posters as Propaganda: from WWI to Iraq

TOPIC: Posters as Propaganda: from WWI to Iraq

SOURCE: Gail Chisholm, owner, Chisholm Gallery,

prominent collector of vintage propaganda and other posters

In times of national crises, governments have used various methods to rally the public. In World War I, President Woodrow Wilson promoted "meatless Tuesdays" and "wheatless Wednesdays" to promote patriotism and a sense of civic involvement. During World War II, the Roosevelt administration encouraged the sale of war bonds to give the people on the home front an opportunity to contribute to the war effort.

Also during the Second World War, Boy Scouts collected tin cans, Victory gardens began to appear, controls on wages were introduced, and rationing began of all essential commodities. In a time before television, the poster became the primary method of communicating the spirit of shared sacrifice necessary to win the war. Posters are still being used as propaganda today; many of those who oppose the imminent war in Iraq are using parodies of classic wartime posters to express their anti-war sentiments, while supporters of the war are again rallying behind the original images of patriotic pride and sacrifice.

Gail Chisholm, owner of The Chisholm Gallery in New York City and a noted authority on propaganda (and other vintage posters), has an extensive collection of such posters from World War I to the present. She is a knowledgeable, articulate source on how this art form has been used to rally the masses to support causes and communicate messages to further a political objective.