WWI U.S. Army 'I WANT YOU' poster sold for $20K at NYC auction; What does the poster mean to you?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:42:55 -0400

NEW YORK — A World War I-era U.S. Army "I WANT YOU" recruitment poster has sold for $20,000 at an auction of some 2,000 wartime posters.

The poster sold Tuesday at Guersney's in Manhattan is one of four of James Montgomery Flagg's iconic Uncle Sam posters included in the Col. Edward H. McCrahon collection. The poster had a pre-sale estimate of $5,000 to $7,000.

The Brooklyn-born McCrahon joined the French army in 1915. Then he enlisted in the U.S. Army two years later when America entered the war. By the mid-1930s he had collected several thousand WWI posters produced by many of the nations involved in the conflict.

The collection is being sold by his grandchildren.
The two-day online auction concludes Wednesday.

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm015.html

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jul 1 at 2015 2:45 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:45:07 -0400

SGT Private RallyPoint Member. Hopefully the proceeds from the sale went to good use. It is interesting that there seems to be a demand for wartime posters.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 1 at 2015 2:46 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:46:22 -0400

This is short, but sweet. I thought it would be a "not so serious " question. For more on Uncle Sam posters go to:

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm015.html

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Jul 1 at 2015 2:47 PM

LTC Stephen C. — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:47:14 -0400

SGT Private RallyPoint Member, this was originally published as the cover for the July 6, 1916, issue of Leslie's Weekly with the title "What Are You Doing for Preparedness?" This portrait of "Uncle Sam" went on to become, according to its creator James Montgomery Flagg, "the most famous poster in the world." Over four million copies were printed between 1917 and 1918, as the United States entered World War I and began sending troops and materiel into war zones. Because of its overwhelming popularity, the image was later adapted for use in World War II. Upon presenting President Franklin Delano Roosevelt a copy of the poster, Flagg remarked that he had been his own model for Uncle Sam to save the modeling fee. Interesting that the most famous and widely recognized and accepted depiction of Uncle Sam was the face of the artist!
It's always been my favorite wartime poster, and I had a huge framed copy of it on my wall long before I ever enlisted. LTC Stephen F.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jul 1 at 2015 3:06 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 15:06:00 -0400

SGT Private RallyPoint Member, LTC Stephen C., the primary reason we don't see posters like the ones that were used in the Civil War, WWI, and WWII which were actually artistic works is not necessarily that the people of the USA have lost their patriotism. If you remember the patriotic fervor which galvanized us as a nation after 9/11/2001, there were few if any physical posters. Since the advent of the world wide web and first rate graphic software, artistic works are developed on computers and distributed far and wide via social media.
Major book store chains have closed as there has been less demand for printed matter and more demand for online and software versions of documents.
I hope there will be rekindling [pun intended] of interest in actual books and printed matter than we can hold, read and admire.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jul 1 at 2015 3:32 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 15:32:31 -0400

It's history, nostalgia and a reminder of a simpler time when being an American meant something and answering your country's call to duty was expected of everyone.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Jul 4 at 2015 12:41 PM

LTC Bink Romanick — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 12:41:30 -0400

Great stuff... Beautiful work from an age gone by,