Invest in the Victory Liberty Loan
Artist
Leon Alaric Shafer
1886 - 1940
Printer
Niagara Litho Co., Buffalo - New York
United States
Date1919
Dimensions28 x 38 in. (71.1 x 96.5 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LineGift of Peter A. Blatz
Object numberPH.38
DescriptionThe Victory Liberty Loan referred to here was the fifth and final issue of Liberty Bonds to fund World War I; it was introduced by the U.S. Treasury in May 1919, six months after the Armistice, to consolidate outstanding war debts. Posters like this one advertising the sale of war bonds were critical to the war effort; Shafer’s dramatic illustration showing American sailors under attack in choppy waters as they face enemy fire, some of them lying wounded or dead, as they strive to protect the passage of the huge liner at left, and the message “They Kept the Sea Lanes Open,” is intended to appeal directly to the patriotic conscience of U.S. citizens. Leon Alaric Shafer was a painter, etcher, and illustrator who designed covers for the American Legion Magazine and the Literary Digest in addition to several World War I propaganda posters.On View
Not on view
