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World War One Visual Culture, U.S.A. 1917-1919
On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress voted to declare war on Germany joining the Allied Powers fighting against the Central Powers, (a.k.a. the Quadruple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria) in what was being called the “Great War.” The World War had started nearly three years earlier on July 28, 1914 and after its declaration of war it would take some additional time for the United States to build up its forces and deploy to the battlefields of Western Europe. Additionally, the United States wanted to be in control of their own troops and operate as independent units and as a result "the first significant US involvement was the Meuse–Argonne offensive in late September 1918." (Stevenson, David, "1914–1918: The History of the First World War," Penguin, p. 403 (Wikipedia - Ref 187). The following are some visual culture paper artifacts which reflect popular culture beliefs and practices (particularly consumerism with respective advertisements) during the time period from when the United States was officially at war until the end of the war on November 11, 1918. Any of the following items will enlarge, if selected. Note: Photoplay Magazine was the leading Hollywood fan magazine of the 1920s and 1930s. |
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Take a KODAK with you. Photoplay Magazine, October 1917 |
Subterranean Cinema 90 Feet Under Shell Torn Verdon, Photoplay Magazine, October 1917 |
Movie promotion for "Fall of the Romanoffs with Iliodor," Photoplay Magazine, October 1917 revealing "the dawn of the Revolution in which was born the Free Russia of today." |
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Keep your Kodak Busy. Photoplay Magazine, November 1917 |
Pictures from Home. Photoplay Magazine, December 1917 |
A poem by a Canadian soldier who is reading a Photoplay Magazine which "helps him forget for awhile that he is somewhere in France," Photoplay Magazine, January 1918 |
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The Picture From Home. Photoplay Magazine, March 1918 |
Life Savers in the trench and battle field, Photoplay Magazine, March 1918 |
The Day of His Going. Photoplay Magazine, April 1918 |
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The Kodak Letter. Photoplay Magazine, May 1918 |
Buy a Smileage Book and give it to your soldier in the training camp. Photoplay Magazine, July 1918 |
Our boys in France crave sweets. Photoplay Magazine, July 1918 |
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Life magazine, March 14, 1918 |
Life magazine, March 23, 1918 |
Life magazine, December 19, 1918 |
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Cosmopolitan magazine, February 1918 |
McClure's Magazine, July 1918 |
Life magazine, September 23, 1918 |
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Life magazine, January 10, 1918 |
McClure's Magazine, July 1918 |
Send tobacco to Our Boys in France, McClure's Magazine, July 1918 |
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Photoplay ad of German pamphlet addressed to German people to only buy German cameras. |
Page 2 of ad translating pamphlet - "There are no German Kodaks." Photoplay Magazine, August 1918 |
The Talking Machine World, July 15, 1918 |
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“Caruso is singing in the trenches of France tonight... The Theatre Magazine, November 1918 |
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Columbia Grafonola, The Ladies' Home Journal for January 1919 |
Photoplay Magazine was the leading Hollywood fan magazine of the 1920s and 1930s.
