As part of the ongoing exhibit of posters in Special Collections for Veterans Day, the students who created the exhibits also created entries for this blog. We will be posting these over the rest of the month of November.
1992.004.5.51 Help him win by Saving and Serving. Buy War Savings Stamps
“Help Him Win By Saving and Serving” is a World War I poster designed to sell war savings stamps. The poster was produced in 1918 by the American Lithographic Co. Unlike many other posters in the Liberty Loan and War Stamps Campaigns, which were usually designed to appeal to older men and women, this poster was specifically designed for an audience of children. Since children did not have their own income to donate to the cause and were too young to go off and fight, the ways they could support the war effort were minimal and sometimes invisible. This poster was designed to bring to light one way in which children could help. The message it displays is simple: Purchase War Savings Stamps and you can play an important part in winning the war. This message is conveyed through the image on the poster of a young boy and girl each clasping a hand of a soldier. The solemn expression of the soldier and the admiring upward glances of the children insinuate that there is no better way to spend your money than by donating to the war effort. Doing so serves a much higher purpose than anything else a child could use their money for.
Historically, the War Savings Stamps Campaign was designed for the collection of money in small amounts ranging from twenty-five cents to five dollars. These stamps were affixed to a certificate which could later be redeemed for the amount of money represented in the stamps, plus interest. The price of the stamps was significantly less than the price of a liberty bond, making it easier for lower-income members of society to contribute to the war effort by purchasing them. Because of this minimal cost, the stamps were often targeted to children as a way to get involved. Since children could only earn small amounts of money through chores and various odd jobs and usually did not have to provide for anyone with their earnings, they were the perfect target audience in the War Savings Stamps Campaign.
This poster can be found in several collections, including:
State Archives of North Carolina
The Library of Congress
University of Tulsa Special Collections
“Boys and Girls! You can help Uncle Sam win the war!”
“My Daddy Bought Me a Government Bond of the Third Liberty Loan. Did Yours?”
1. “Help Him Win by Saving and Serving–Buy War Savings Stamps.” Help Him Win by Saving and Serving–Buy War Savings Stamps. Accessed October 11, 2012. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002707405/.
2. “War Savings Stamps Issued by the United States Government.” 4 Minute Men 21 (January 2, 1918): 2-5. Accessed October 11, 2012. http://libcudl.colorado.edu/wwi/pdf/i71731829.pdf.
3. “Help him win by saving and serving. Buy War Savings Stamps”, Mars Number 505.1, World War I Poster Collection, General Liberty loan Posters, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC,USA.
4. “World War I Propaganda Posters.” Boys and Girls! You Can Help Your Uncle Sam Win the War -. 2009. Accessed October 11, 2012. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/ww1posters/5071.
5. World War I Collection. Coll No. 1992.005. McFarlin Library. Department of Special Collections and University Archives. University of Tulsa.
— Guest post by Becky Rolseth