Until the arrival of radio and television, and despite the influence of newspapers, posters were the major medium for mass communication. During the Great War all the belligerent nations produced an extraordinary variety of them - and they did so on a massive scale. As the 200 wartime and immediate post-war posters selected for this book reveal, they were one of the most potent, and memorable, ways of conveying news, information and propaganda. In the most graphic and colourful fashion they promoted values such as patriotism and sacrifice. By using rallying symbols such as flags as well as historical and mythical models, they sought to maintain morale and draw people together by stirring up anger against the enemy. Today their remarkable variety of styles give us an instant insight into the themes and messages the military and civilian authorities wished to publicize.The sheer inventiveness of the poster artists is demonstrated as they focused on key aspects of the propaganda campaign in Britain, France, Germany, America and Russia. The diversity of their work is displayed here in chapters that cover recruitment, money raising, the soldier, the enemy, the family and the home front, films and the post-war world. A century ago, when these images were first viewed, they must have been even more striking in contrast to the poor-quality newspaper photographs and postcards that were available at the time. The Great War was to change that forever. It introduced a means of propaganda that was novel, persuasive and above all, powerful. It was the first media war, and the poster played a key role in it.

Essays by Jay Winter, Jeffrey T. Schnapp, Jennifer D. Keene, and others reveal the centrality of visual media, particularly the poster, within the specific national contexts of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States during World War I.℗¡Ultimately, posters were not merely representations of popular understanding of the war, but instruments influencing the.

Feel the full force of the propaganda that surrounded the British public during the First World War in this full-colour book exploring the art, themes and psychology of over 200 authentic posters from the period.

Reprints recruiting, loyalty, and fund raising posters printed in Britain, Italy, Russia, Germany, France, Austria, and the U.S. during the Great War

"A lush catalog… exquisitely conceived and rendered."—The New York Times This essential publication features a wide selection of the most eye-catching and iconic examples from the internationally renowned poster collection at the Imperial War Museum in London. More than 300 superb full-color illustrations of hard-hitting propaganda and groundbreaking graphic art encompass unforgettable images such as Alfred Leete’s “Your Country Needs You” as well as documentary photographs and additional material drawn from the world of advertising. Through these posters, James Aulich, an international expert on posters and graphic design, examines the social, political, ethnic, and cultural aspirations of America, Britain, Northern Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Russia, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Covering topics as diverse as advertising in World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, Germany and Occupied Europe in World War II, anti-nuclear campaigns, and Vietnam, the book is a comprehensive and invaluable resource for anyone interested in graphic design or modern history.

Eighty color and black-and-white posters, issued from 1914 to 1919, feature the work of Steinlen, Biró, Paul Nash, and other noted artists. An informative Introduction details the historical role of wartime posters.