"I Want You": Vintage WWI posters
An iconic, patriotic Uncle Sam "I Want You" World War I army recruitment poster sold for $20,000 on June 30, 2015, as part of a two-day auction of approximately 2,000 WWI posters from the collection of Brooklyn-born Edward H. McCrahon.
The collection, offered June 30 to July 1, 2015, for auction online by New York auction house Guernsey's and called the Colonel McCrahon Collection, had never left the McCrahon family.
Here, a detail of the well-known "I Want You" poster by James Montgomery Flagg.
World War I posters
The auction included four of the "I Want You" recruitment posters, featuring the famous finger-pointing Uncle Sam. The poster, created by James Montgomery Flagg, was first published as the cover for the July 6, 1916 issue of Leslie's Weekly. Montgomery, who reportedly was his own model for the poster, described it as "the most famous poster in the world."
World War I posters
The Brooklyn-born Edward H. McCrahon joined the French Army two years before the U.S. entered the First World War. McCrahon became riveted by the compelling graphics of war poster art while in France and began collecting them during his time there.
This poster is titled "Henry de Groux."
World War I posters
"Buy a Liberty Bond" - C.R. Macauley
Once the U.S. became involved in World War I, McCrahon returned home, enlisted in the U.S. Army, and rose to the rank of Colonel.
World War I posters
"Prestito Nazionale"
At the end of the war, he devoted his time to assembling the most extensive collection of war posters known to exist.
World War I posters
"Journee De L'Armee D'Afrique"
Roughly half the posters in the collection were from many different countries involved in the Great War, while the rest were from the U.S.
World War I posters
"In the Name of Mercy Give!" - Albert Herter
By the mid-1930s - after 16 years of collecting - the McCrahon Collection was widely exhibited and acknowledged in countless print articles, and even in "Ripley's Believe It or Not," as the finest collection of its type.
The collection features posters that cover fundraising, food rationing, enlistment, women's war efforts, and animal aid.
World War I posters
"L'Emprunt De La Liberation."
Many of the posters collected by McCrahon are the only known copies to exist today.
World War I posters
"Divison for Foreign Born Women" - C. Howard Walker
The auction was arranged by McCrahon's grandchildren.
World War I posters
"I Want You for The Navy"
World War I posters
"Zeichnet 8. Kriegsanleihe"
World War I posters
"How Much Will You Lend to the Boys Who Are Giving All" - Franklin Booth
World War I posters
"Canadian Patriotic Fund"
World War I posters
"Souscrivez Pour La Victoire"
World War I posters
"Zeichnet die Siebente Kriegsanleihe"
World War I posters
"Entoka Γpammatia"
World War I posters
"U.S.A Bonds" - Joseph Christian Leyendecker
World War I posters
"Alístate en el Ejército" (Enlist in the Army)
World War I posters
"Buy War Savings Stamps"