ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK War Bonds Poster

[fdz]

Hi all, could I get your opinions on this poster?

[fdz]

2

[fdz]

Forgot to add, the seller says the dimensions are 22" x 28"

[dramos]

Has the poster been placed on anything? The type of paper that these were printed on was very thin. Can you see the piece in person or is it a long distance transaction?

[fdz]

Has the poster been placed on anything? The type of paper that these were printed on was very thin. Can you see the piece in person or is it a long distance transaction?

Hi Dramos, the seller is calling it a, "Cardboard poster" so I'm thinking that it is not the the very thin paper as you described. Unfortunately it is a long distance transaction and there is no possible way I can see in person without buying it first. The seller does accept returns within 14 days of me receiving the poster, though.

Here is the exact quote from the item description.

Made of a thinner cardboard so it hasn't been folded like the larger paper posters that were folded up and mailed. Good condition with some wear to the border, but the actual picture is excellent with only 1 small tear that extends about 1" into the picture.

[drmessimer]

fdz: Dramos is right about posters that size being on relatively thin paper. The carboard (posterboard) posters were usually much smaller. Looking at the photos you posted, there are tears in the edge of the poster about half way up on the left side that indicate it is printed on thin paper rather than posterboard. The big question is; was it actually printed in 1942 or is it a postwar reproduction? There is a huge market for those posters and there are more than one company that prints them in the original sizes and with all the printing and dates in the right places in the margin. Even the postwar prints get pretty salty after they have been nailed or tacked up somewhere for a long time. The truth is that these kinds of wartime propaganda posters were printed in the thousands and put up everywhere, and frequently replaced. When they came down they were usually ripped off and thrown away. I can say that with certainty because one of my school assignments during WWII was to help take down and replace the posters in our school. They were not gently handled, and given the numbers printed, relatively few survived. This poster could go either way. Dwight

[fdz]

fdz: Dramos is right about posters that size being on relatively thin paper. The carboard (posterboard) posters were usually much smaller. Looking at the photos you posted, there are tears in the edge of the poster about half way up on the left side that indicate it is printed on thin paper rather than posterboard. The big question is; was it actually printed in 1942 or is it a postwar reproduction? There is a huge market for those posters and there are more than one company that prints them in the original sizes and with all the printing and dates in the right places in the margin. Even the postwar prints get pretty salty after they have been nailed or tacked up somewhere for a long time. The truth is that these kinds of wartime propaganda posters were printed in the thousands and put up everywhere, and frequently replaced. When they came down they were usually ripped off and thrown away. I can say that with certainty because one of my school assignments during WWII was to help take down and replace the posters in our school. They were not gently handled, and given the numbers printed, relatively few survived. This poster could go either way. Dwight

Thank you for the very informative answer, Dwight. I will wait for a better one that has no questions of authenticity - if there is such a thing. Do you know of any reference sites or books about these kind and other ww2 posters? I'm really keen on adding a few originals to my collection but I'd like acquire at least some knowledge beforehand.

[drmessimer]

I really don't know of a book that is specifically directed at collectors. I have a copy of Dennis Judd, Posters of World War Two, which I don't recommend as a collector's reference because the illustrations are all in black and white. I don't collect WWII posters, I just recall them being everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE, and being one of the chosen five charged by the school authorities to help keep America free by seeing that the school's allotment of posters was properly posted and the postings were kept up to date. My real interest in those WWII Posters stems from a class I taught at San Jose State University in which there was a section on the US WWII home front, in which those posters played a major role. As a possible point of interest, I have an original WWI Litho of "Boy Scouts" by F.X. Leyendecker that came from the San Jose BSA regional office and is still in the original 1917 frame. An example of the Litho shown below. Dwight

[Masonk]

Hi FDZ,
I've handled quite a few WWI US propaganda posters and they are similar in construction to those from WWII. The poster you're interested in looks period, however is definitely mounted on some type of cardboard. You can see in the photos below where the thin paper that is the actual poster has lifted and the cardboard underneath has been exposed. Now as to when it was mounted, well that's anyone's guess; Could be period or could be 10 years ago.

The price is clearly reflective of these condition issues. I would personally hold out for a better example. In addition, I'm not too keen on how the seller tacked it to the wall! While he may have used previous holes, there would be no way for a potential buyer to know that. That considered, I'd be worried they take no consideration when shipping and it becomes further damaged.

That's my 2 cents! Good luck!

P.S. If you check EBay completed listings for this same poster, there are quite a few that sold for less and were in far better condition compared to the one you are interested in. So if you're patient, you'll find one at a price you're comfortable with.