Swann Galleries' biannual Vintage Posters sale is coming around again on August 5, and as always the sale features a number of iconic images from World War I and II. Below we take a look at posters that feature two types of calls to action: images that rally enlistment and images that inspire help from the home front.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
The Call to Enlist
Left: Lot 111, Joseph C. Leyendecker, America Calls / Enlist in the Navy, 1917. Estimate $2,000 to $3,000.
Right: Lot 56, Britain Needs You At Once, designer unknown, 1915. Estimate $700 to $1,000.
Left: Lot 93, Issac Brewster Hazelton, Men Wanted for the Army, 1914. Estimate $600 to $900.
Right: Lot 90, R. Fayerwaither Babcock, Join the Navy, 1917, from a group of WWI posters by various artists. Estimate $2,000 to $3,000.
Left: Lot 62, Sir Bernard Partridge, Take Up the Sword of Justice, circa 1914. Estimate $800 to $1,200.
Right: Lot 63, Lucy Kemp Walsh, Forward! / Enlist Now, 1915. Estimate $1,200 to $1,800.
Help on the Home Front
Left: Lot 119, Lucile Patterson Marsh, Service / Fall In! / National League for Womans Service, circa 1917. Estimate $700 to $1,000.
Right: Lot 118, John E. Sheridan, Food is Ammunition, circa 1918. Estimate $600 to $900.
Left: Lot 104, Howard Chandler Christy, Patriotic League, 1918. Estimate $600 to $900.
Right: Lot 89, From a group of 4 WWI posters by various artists, 1915-1918. Estimate $1,500 to $2,000.
Lot 121, Edward Penfield, The Girl on the Land Serves the Nation's Need / Apply Y.W.C.A. Estimate $700 to $1,000.
For more excellent war posters, check out our catalogue.