Poster, 'Rally Round The Flag'

Letterpress text posters such as this one were common in the First World War, both in New Zealand and Britain, when governments needed to quickly and effectively make proclamations in an era without television or radio.

Red, white and blue
Many British First World War posters were printed in the colours of the Union Jack flag - red, white and blue - to lend authority to the message and subtly appeal to patriotic public sentiment, and simply to catch the eye.

This poster is particularly poignant in that the founder of the printing company who made it (Herbert Wood Hanbury) died in action on 17 September 1916.