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Title: World War I Poster Collection, 1917-1919

ID: MSS WW1Posters

Primary Creator: Boy Scouts of America

Extent: 1.0 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The World War I Poster Collection is arranged into five series: I: United States Food Administration, 1918; II: United States War Bonds & Stamps, 1918-1919; III: Charitable Organizations, 1918; IV: War Work Campaign, 1918; V: Informational Posters, 1917-1918. Materials are arranged within series alphabetically according to issuing organization and by production serial number or approximate date of printing. Encapsulated, linen-backed, and untreated posters are housed separately for preservation purposes.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The World War I Poster Collection is comprised of propaganda posters generated by the United States Food Administration, the United States Treasury Department, the American Red Cross, the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), and other charitable organizations in support of the United States and its allies in World War I. Of note, the collection contains numerous posters related to food austerity, U.S. war bond and stamp sales, and the United War Work Campaign of 1918.

The World War I Poster Collection is comprised of propaganda posters generated by the U.S. Food Administration, U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Board for Vocational Education, the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, the American Library Association, the American Red Cross, the Boy Scouts of America, Fatherless Children of France, Inc., the National Emergency Food Garden Commission, the Jewish Welfare Board, the Knights of Columbus, the National Catholic War Council, the Salvation Army, the War Camp Community Service, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), and the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). This collection includes poster designs from Howard Chandler Christy, C. B. Falls, George Illian, Gil Spear, Adolph Treidler, and others. The bulk of the posters relate to the U.S. Food Administration's austerity campaign (which encouraged reduced consumption of wheat, sugar, fats, and red meat) and the U.S. Treasury's promotion of the third, fourth, and fifth Liberty Loans. Also included are numerous posters from the 1918 United War Work Campaign, the American Red Cross' War Fund drive, the American Library Association's book collecting initiative, and other charitable efforts. The collection is composed of 92 unique items and 52 duplicates, totaling 144 items.

World War I began on July 28, 1914 as the result of ongoing political tension between Austria-Hungary and Serbia and the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The conflict grew to include the world's major economic and military powers and was fought between the Allies (the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria). The United States joined the conflict in 1917 in support of the Allies. The war was fought across Europe and the Middle East and concluded on November 11, 1918 when an armistice was signed with Germany, the only remaining Central Power combatant. Officially, a state of warfare persisted until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. The war resulted in the deaths of 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians with total casualties estimated at 37 million. The conflict also reshaped the European political, social, and economic landscape and defined the global political climate leading to World War II.

American participation in World War I required an enormous output of economic, military, and industrial resources. The U.S. government relied heavily on the American public to supply military personnel, labor, raw materials, industrial goods, and funds to the war effort. The U.S. government and numerous charitable organizations launched a series of campaigns promoting austerity measures, purchase of war bonds and stamps, enlistment in the armed forces, and donations of money and goods. Radio, film, and print media--especially posters--were used to deliver these messages to America's civilian population. The United States expended approximately $17 billion (not adjusted for inflation) in the war effort.

More Extent Information: 144 items; 6 map folders

Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: Many of the items in the World War I Poster Collection were acquired during World War I as part of Oregon Agricultural College's government document retention program and were housed in the Oregon State University Library maps collection with other war posters. In 1995, war posters housed by the Library were transferred to the University Archives. Shortly thereafter (in 1996), a small number of war posters that had been transferred from the Library to the Horner Museum in 1979 were also acquired by the University Archives. These two accessions comprised the University Archives' War Poster Collection. The World War I posters were separated in 2014 to form the World War I Poster Collection, which now resides in Oregon State University's Special Collections & Archives Research Center.

Related Materials: Other collections with materials related to World War I include the Ulysses Grant McAlexander Collection (MSS McAlexander), Oregon State University Military Photographs Collection (P 002), and the F. A. Gilfillan Papers (MSS Gilfillan). Other collections featuring war propaganda include the World War II Poster Collection (MSS WW2Posters) and the World War II Newsmaps (MAPS Newsmap).

Preferred Citation: World War I Poster Collection (MSS WW1Posters), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Boy Scouts of America
Alco-Gravure
American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief
American Library Association
American Library Association. Library War Service
American Lithographic Co.
American Red Cross
Beckman, Rienecke
Bracker, M. Leone (1885-1937)
Britton, L. N.
Christy, Howard Chandler (1873-1952)
Coffin, Haskell (1878-1941)
Cooper, Fred G. (Frederic Gross) (1883-1962)
Crisp
De Maris, Walter
Devney, R. E.
Dunn, Harvey (1884-1952)
E. Ketterlinus & Co.
Edwards & Deutsch Litho. Co.
Falls, C. B. (Charles Buckles) (1874-1960)
Fatherless Children of France (Organization)
Foringer, A. E. (Alonzo Earl) (1878-1948)
Grant, Gordon (1875-1962)
Green, H. H.
Grinnell Lithographic Company
Harris, Lawren (1885-1970)
Hendee, A.
Herter, Albert (1871-1950)
Heywood, Strasser & Voigt Litho. Co.
Illian, George (1894-1932)
Jewish Welfare Board
Jonas, Lucien (1880-1947)
Kenyon Company (Des Moines, Iowa)
Kidder
King, W. B.
Knights of Columbus
Latham Litho. & Ptg. Co.
Leyendecker, J. C. (Joseph Christian) (1874-1951)
Matthews-Northrup Company
Morgan, P. G.
Morgan, Wallace
National Association of Ice Industries (U.S.)
National Catholic War Council (U.S.)
National Council of the Young Men's Christian Associations of the United States of America
National Emergency Food Garden Commission
Niagara Lithograph Co.
Norton, John
Oregon Agricultural College. Department of Art
Parker, Cushman (1881-)
Paus, Herbert Andrew (1880-1946)
Pennell, Joseph (1857-1926)
Perard, Victor Semon (1870-1957)
Raleigh, Henry (1880-1945)
Rice, Burton
Riesenberg, Sidney H.
Sackett & Wilhelms Litho. & Prt. Co.
Salvation Army
Sheridan, John E.
Slayton, Mildred L.
Smith, Dan (1865-1934)
Spear, Gil
St. John, James Allen (1872-1957)
Stahr, Paul (1883-1953)
Steale
Stern
Strobridge Lithographing Company
Strothmann, F. (Frederick) (1872-)
Thomsen-Ellis Company
Townsend, Harry Everett
Treidler, Adolph, 1886-
Underwood, Clarence F.
United States Food Administration
United States Printing and Lithograph Co.
United States. Committee on Public Information
United States. Committee on Public Information. Division of Pictorial Publicity
United States. Department of Labor
United States. Department of the Treasury
United States. Federal Board for Vocational Education
United States. War Department
United War Work Campaign, Inc.
W.F. Powers Co.
War Camp Community Service (U.S.)
Whitehead, Walter (1874-1956)
William H. Forbes & Company
Williams, J. Scott (John Scott) (1877-1975)
Wood, J. J.
Wyeth, N. C. (Newell Convers) (1882-1945)
Young Men's Christian Association
Young Women's Christian Association
Young, William Crawford (1886-)

Rationing--United States.
Savings bonds.
University History
War posters.
World War, 1914-1918--Posters.
World War, 1914-1918--Propaganda.

Posters.