That Little Gray Home

Venereal disease prevention poster, presumably the second page of a book that has been torn out. This poster uses nostalgic language and imagery in a powerful way to try to prevent soldiers from visiting prostitutes while serving overseas. In the upper left corner is a black and white illustration of a farm house, with smoke puffing out of the chimney. Another black and white illustration, which is situated in the bottom part of the poster, depicts steamer boats approaching New York. The remaining text, printed in red or black ink, reads: 'Is there someone there waiting to welcome you with open arms and shining eyes? Someone who wants to hear all about you and the war and the army and - Say Buddy, won't it be great? - There'll be turkey for dinner and cranberries and pumpkin pie, of course, and all the other trimmings of an honest-to goodness home feast. Will you step into the old place proud of your record, or will you have to slink in and explain why you were in the hospital with a Venereal Disease? Will you swap the real joy of home-coming for a little passing pleasure under a red lantern?' The posters produced by the Social Hygiene Division were a breakthrough in preventive medicine - previous to the war, venereal diseases were rarely discussed, and there were limited medical resources in the United States for the treatment of those suffering from them. This poster was no. 2 in a series of veneral disease prevention posters.