Hands wanted for national service. If you cannot fight for your country - work for it. Enrol to day. / W.E. Ltd. – Antique Print
![Hands wanted for national service. If you cannot fight for your country - work for it. Enrol to day. / W.E. Ltd., [S.l. : s.n., 1917] — vintage poster](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/14/14f7af0d1bd1-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Few images capture their era like this vintage poster of Hands wanted for national service. If you cannot fight for your country - work for it. Enrol to day. / W.E. Ltd.. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.
Hands wanted for national service. If you cannot fight for your country - work for it. Enrol to day. / W.E. Ltd.
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This poster's slogan, "If you cannot fight for your country, work for it," sets it apart from the many recruiting posters that urge men into uniform. By 1917 Britain had lost large numbers of workers to the armed forces, and industries such as munitions, farming, and transport faced serious shortages. The National Service campaign turned to civilians, including men unfit for combat and women, asking them to register for war work. The poster's plain call to "enrol to-day" shows how the government tried to make factory and field work seem as necessary to the war effort as service at the front.
| Created / published | [S.l. : s.n., 1917] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print (poster) : lithograph, color ; 99 x 62 cm. |
| Genre | War posters British 1910-1920.Lithographs Color 1910-1920. |
| Notes | Title from item. Series. Rep. B.3. 200.M. |
| Subjects | World War, 1914-1918--Economic & industrial aspects--Great Britain. Recruiting & enlistment--Great Britain--1910-1920. Employment--Great Britain--1910-1920. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 3,280 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | 807_Hands_wanted_for_nation_1917 |
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![Surely you will fight for your [portrait of King George V] and [map of Great Britain]. Come along, boys, before it is too late / printed by Jas. Truscott & Son, Ltd., Suffolk Lane, London, E.C.](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/fa/fa25ab57e9ff-400.webp)