Poster, 'Men Wanted for the Army'

American Recruitment

This American poster was created to encourage the enlistment of men into the armed forces. It was printed in the year the First World War began, but was for local recruitment purposes as America did not enter the war until 1917. It features a large scale colour lithograph, titled: 'Men Wanted for the Army'. The illustration depicts soldiers running through grass holding guns, with one soldier dominating the foreground. A border frames the lithograph and space below the image for details of the recruiting station where one could apply to be added.

British and American Posters in New Zealand

This item is part of a collection of First World War posters sent to New Zealand as examples of British and American propaganda. From 1917-1919, the Dominion Museum (now Te Papa) collected such war material with the help of the New Zealand High Commissioner in London and the Department of Defence. This particular poster arrived with the second batch of posters of over one hundred British and American war posters, sent by the High Commissioner in London via the Department of Internal Affairs in June 1919 and New Zealand War Records Section in London (Department of Defence).

The museum intended to collect and display such objects in a planned national war museum in Wellington which never eventuated. Instead, the museum toured over 100 war posters around New Zealand in the early 1920s in the context of increasing commemoration of the war during peacetime. For many, the posters illustrated important aspects of the war and the history of New Zealand's part in the war. This commemorative function was far removed from their original function to encourage wartime contribution.