Under Creel’s direction the Committee on Public Information created the Division of Pictorial Publicity that targeted the non-reading populace through the vivid imagery of posters. Many artists were recruited by the War Department to create propaganda posters and other works promoting widespread support of the war effort. Between 1917 and 1918 thousands of posters and other propaganda materials were created and disseminated across the country.

The Division of Pictorial Publicity was under the direction of Charles Dana Gibson, the most influential and best-known magazine illustrator in America at the time. A self-organized group of artists and illustrators in the division, known as the “Vigilantes,” included Charles Dana Gibson, Jack Sheridan, C.B. Falls, Howard Chandler Christy and James Montgomery Flagg (best known for creating the iconic image of Uncle Sam).

Like many others, Gibson felt that because of geographic distance America was too removed from the war in a physical and psychological sense to truly grasp its impact and larger implications. He felt that the war must appeal to the heart of all Americans. For this reason, many illustrations used in the posters commonly posted throughout cities and towns included expressionist qualities intended to strike at the heart through color and provocative content. None of the posters issued by the CPI were directed at any specific states, including South Carolina, but were printed in mass quantities and distributed throughout the nation, circulating the same message to all Americans.

Some posters and illustrations were intended to reach out to specific groups of people, whether in the workplace or in the home. C.T. Adams, an artist and illustrator, created a series of images encouraging men to enlist as shipyard workers. These posters, titled U.S. Shipyard Volunteers, were instrumental in creating the crews necessary to build the ships needed in the war. Posters like these encouraged men to enlist in support of the war working at the Charleston Navy Yard. Posters reaching out to the labor force often featured campaigns such as “The Right Men in the Right Jobs Will Win the War.” Other posters reached out to women and children, illustrating what they could do to support the war in which their husbands and fathers were fighting. Several posters targeted women by encouraging them to write letters to their loved ones fighting in Europe. Others suggested that women get involved in food drives and food conservation and join the Red Cross.

CAPTIONS: “Clear the Way!!,” Howard Chandler Christy, Lithograph on paper, 1917-1918; “Joan of Arc Saved France,” Haskell Coffin, Lithograph on paper, 1917-1918; “Keep these of the U.S.A.: Buy more Liberty Bonds, John Norton, Lithograph on paper, 1917–18, all from the Joseph M. Bruccoli Great War Collection, Thomas Cooper Library, University of South Carolina