Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
WWII Poster of a Woman carrying Jars, c. 1944. |
Object Name |
Poster |
Scope & Content |
WWII Poster of a Woman carrying Jars, c. 1944. A poster with a light blue background with a woman in an apron carrying jars containing food with more additional jars at the bottom near her apron. There is some painted text, in bold and in red, at the top of the poster that reads ""OF COURSE I CAN"". Underneath the jars that the woman she is holding on to is some text written in pencil that says "Dick Williams". Underneath the additional jars near her apron are some text, in black, that reads "I'm patriotic as can be- / And ration points won't worry me!". Underneath the text above is some more painted text, in smaller print and in bold that says "DISTRIBUTED BY OWI FOR WFA / WAR FOOD ADMINSTRATION / WASHINGTON D.C.". At the very bottom of the poster, there is some printed text in tiny print that says "U.S. GOVERMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1944-O-643470". At the very back of the poster near the middle, there is some additional typed text which is the return address that says "U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE / OFFICE OF INFORMATION / Washington 25, D.C. / OFFICIAL BUSINESS". On the right hand side of the text above says "Penalty for Private Use to Avoid / Payment of Passage, $300". Below both of these text is some typed text that says an address "THE SAN FRANCISCO BANK / 1435 BURLINGAME AVE. / BURLINGAME, CALIF. / BK". Below all of the text above is some more additional text in a bigger font that says "YOU CAN HELP / TO KEEP OUR NATION WELL FED / BY DISPLAYING THIS POSTER". Below the text above are some more text in smaller font that says "Home canning is tremendously important this / year. Our armed forces are taking the largest / percentage of commercially canned fruits and / vegetables on record. / This year civilians will have less commercially / canned fruits and vegetable than ever before. / Home canning is the answer... not only for / the individual ... but every quart of fruits or / vegetables canned at home adds just so much / more to the total supply. / This poster will encourage home canning. / Won't you display it ... prominently. You will / be helping to solve one of the most difficult / problems in the world today. You will be help- / ing the war ... and the peace. / Thank you!" Dimensions: 24.5 x 18.5 |
Date |
1944 |
Creator |
Williams, Richard F. |
Catalog Number |
1991.175.002 |
Collection |
Archival Collection |
Notes |
"Richard F. Williams was a successful artist in the commercial arts for over twenty years, but gradually shifted to the fine arts; painting portraits and landscapes towards the end of his career. Born in Buffalo, New York he pursued his career in art at the Buffalo School of Fine Arts. At the age of nineteen he won his first award for a poster he entered in a local competition. After retirement from numerous jobs as an illustrator for magazines and local newspapers, Williams decided to try his hand at portraiture." [http://www.fortmissoulamuseum.org/WWII/detail.php?id=120-12/4/2016] "To control the content and imagery of war messages, the government created the U.S. Office of War Information (OWI) in June 1942. Among its wide-ranging responsibilities, OWI sought to review and approve the design and content of government posters. Eventually, two contending groups within OWI clashed over poster design. Those who saw posters as "war art" favored stylized images and symbolism, while recruits from the world of advertising wanted posters to be more like ads. When admen gained the upper hand at OWI, the look of government posters changed decidedly. OWI officials felt that the most urgent problem on the home front was the careless leaking of sensitive information that could be picked up by spies and saboteurs. OWI officials brought a variety of approaches to poster design. Graphics chief Francis Brennan, former art director of Fortune Magazine, believed that posters should be "war art", combining the sophisticated style of contemporary art with the promotion of war aims. OWI drew some of its specialists from the world of advertising and commercial art, who tended to think in terms of "ad campaigns". The results were sometimes oddly superficial -- posters that translated messages of sacrifice and struggle into the familiar advertising world of smiling faces and carefree households. Advertising specialists in OWI finally gained the upper hand in 1943. From that time, government posters looked more like magazine illustrations, and the idea of "war art" was abandoned. OWI's admen now ran "information campaigns", using posters in concert with magazines, radio, and other kinds of paid advertising space." [http://americanhistory.si.edu/victory/victory5.htm-12/4/2016] |
Search Terms |
Jar Jars Poster Posters Women World War II World War Two |
Subjects |
Jar Posters Women World War II |
People |
Williams, Richard F. |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Arthur Schade |