Poster, 'The British Empire And Allies' Glorious Triumph'

item details

NamePoster, 'The British Empire And Allies' Glorious Triumph'

ProductionAndrew Hornblow; printer; 1919; New Zealand

Classificationpolitical posters

Materialspaper, printing ink

Materials SummaryScreen print on paper

Techniquesscreen printing

DimensionsOverall: 575mm (height), 447mm (length)

Registration NumberGH014049

Credit lineAcquisition history unknown

Overview

This poster celebrates the Allies' 'Glorious Triumph' over Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the official end of World War I. While the Armistice of November 1918 ended fighting, it took six months to conclude a peace treaty. This was the Treaty of Versailles, negotiated at the Paris Peace Conference from January to June 1919.

Absent ally

The poster is festooned with the flags of the Allies celebrating 'Freedom, Liberty and Justice'. One notable flag is absent though - that of Russia. Russia fought with the Allies, but the Boshevik Revolution of 1917 had undermined its military strength. This led to a separate armistice between Germany and Russia in December 1917 and a peace treaty signed in March 1918.

Colourful poster

This is one of the most colourful New Zealand-made posters from World War I, possibly because it was printed commercially.Official government posters were generally text only, with very little colour.