We honour Remembrance Day with WW1 Canadian vintage military posters
On Remembrance Day we respectfully pause to reflect on the sacrifice of the military, their families, the victims, casualties and society as a whole made during War.
"If ye break faith, we shall not sleep : buy victory bonds"
Toronto Public Library has a large collection of vintage WWI posters at the Toronto Reference Library Special Collections Department. Many are available online as part of the digital archive. A selection have been posted to our pinterest page.
I want to highlight posters showing two aspects of World War I:
- recruitment, an issue all during the war, but especially towards the end
- home front sacrifice and efforts
The poster was a key communication tool in the time before the Internet, cell phones, television, the movies and even radio. It served to inform, exhort and sway – it was an important propaganda tool.
There was also the Victory Bonds promotions offering the very competitive 5.5 % rate of return on investments of less than $50.
Keep all Canadians busy : buy 1918 victory bonds
With a variety of designs – some more avant garde like the one below left by Malcom Gibson or the almost art deco one on the right by Arthur Keelor:
While other posters used a more old fashioned guilt method:
Before Canada could fight the War though our men had to enlist and there were many appeals to nationalism and cultural backgrounds:
For God! For King and Empire. For Newfoundland. Enlist now!
As time went on more men were needed and the appeals became stronger and Canada faced the Conscription Crisis of 1917.
"Are your folks ashamed of you for not enlisting?"
About 65,000 Canadians died in World War I. Canadian soldiers distinguished themselves in many military battles including Somme, Ypres, Vimy and Passchendaele. Most of our dead are buried overseas in France. When the War was over soldiers returned to a warm welcome but the society they had left had changed and the scars they carried from the War often stayed with them.
Percy Waters florist, Danforth Ave., between Hampton & Logan Aves circa 1918.
If you would like to see a selection of our WW1 posters please look at our Pinterest page – otherwise you can also look at our digital archive. We also have an extensive collection of World War II posters.
For other Toronto Public Library blogs done to honour Remembrance Day see:
You may also enjoy the virtual exhibit of World War II posters and ephemera from the 2005 show "Canadians on Guard: The Home Front 1939 – 1945".
One thought on “We honour Remembrance Day with WW1 Canadian vintage military posters”
Dear Bill V.
Great blog with lots of colourful posters from our past. Here is another sister blog to yours that was posted on August 1st to remember Britain going into the First World War: https://blogs.tpl.ca/north-york-central-blog/2016/07/my-entry.html