The gospel of the clean plate, don't waste any food / L. Mallory. – Historic Reproduction
![The gospel of the clean plate, don't waste any food / L. Mallory., [1917] — vintage poster](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/4a/4acf5d27e001-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 The gospel of the clean plate, don't waste any food / L. Mallory.. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. 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.
The gospel of the clean plate, don't waste any food / L. Mallory.
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Its headline, "The gospel of the clean plate," treats wasted food as a moral failing, and the New York State Department of Health, under Commissioner Hermann M. Biggs, put its name to the appeal. Printed in 1917, the year the United States entered the First World War, the poster asks diners to take only the food they will eat, noting that thousands were starving in Europe. Campaigns like this were part of a broader national effort to conserve food for Allied armies and civilians, and they asked ordinary households to take on that responsibility at the dinner table.
| Created / published | [1917] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print (poster) : lithograph, color ; 35.5 x 25 cm. |
| Genre | War posters American 1910-1920.Lithographs Color 1910-1920. |
| Notes | Text continues: Leave a clean dinner plate. Take only such food as you will eat. Thousands are starving in Europe. New York State Department of Health, Hermann M. Biggs, Commissioner. Forms part of: Willard and Dorothy Straight Collection. |
| Subjects | World War, 1914-1918--Economic & industrial aspects--United States. World War, 1914-1918--Social aspects--United States. Food supply--1910-1920. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 3,590 × 4,457 px · prints to 12 × 15 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-222249 |
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