Save the products of the Land. Eat more fish - they feed themselves

Place North & Central America: United States of America
Accession Number ARTV03959
Collection type Art
Measurement Sheet: 76 x 50.7 cm
Object type Poster
Physical description chromolithograph on paper
Maker Bull, Charles Livingston
Heywood Strasser & Voigt Litho. Co. N.Y.
United States Food Administration
Place made United States of America
Date made c. 1917 - 1918
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Copyright

Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain

Public Domain Mark This item is in the Public Domain

Description

Depicts four golden-brown carp against a cool green background; they are swimming through water plants . The title of the poster is printed in a subtle pink, and is situated in a manner that the fish draw attention to it, rather than using strong contrasting colours to draw attention to the text. This is poster a gentle persuader, eschewing the standard bold colour schemes favoured in many propaganda posters of the time.

Charles Livingston Bull contributed several notable designs to the war effort. He integrated Art Nouveau and elements of the Arts and Crafts movements into his designs, flattening the picture plane, and introducing sweeping, curvilinear movement. This, however, is a more naturalistic example of his style.

Herbert Hoover implemented a campaign during the war to encourage Americans to conserve food so that it could be used toward the war effort. His campaign was so successful that the term to "Hooverize" entered the English lexicon. The term, in Hoover's words, meant: 'saving, substituting, practicing self-denial, and thus helping win the war.'