Snapshots of the Past

Men, the country needs you now Enlist to-day. – Antique Print

Men, the country needs you now Enlist to-day., [1917] — vintage poster
Men, the country needs you now Enlist to-day., [1917]. Vintage poster from the Military collection.

(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 Men, the country needs you now Enlist to-day.. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Men, the country needs you now Enlist to-day.

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The poster's particular feature is its borrowed voice: the text is a line of dialogue attributed to the actress Laurette Taylor from the 1917 stage production *Out There*, rather than a slogan written by a recruiter. Printed in 1917, the year the United States entered the First World War, it belongs to the wave of recruiting posters that urged young men to enlist. Its plain, colloquial wording was meant to sound like ordinary speech, which made the appeal feel personal and direct. The poster is a useful example of how wartime propaganda borrowed the prestige of popular theater to reach audiences.

Created / published[1917]
Medium1 print (poster) : lithograph, color ; 101 x 70 cm.
GenreWar posters American 1910-1920.Lithographs Color 1910-1920.
NotesText reads: If your country's in war there ain't nothin' you can do exceptin' help" - Laurette Taylor in "Out There." Forms part of: Willard and Dorothy Straight Collection."
SubjectsWorld War, 1914-1918--Recruiting & enlistment--United States.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan3,556 × 4,443 px · prints to 12 × 15 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-221764

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