This poster, which encourages the viewer to buy war savings stamps, displays a rosy-cheeked child standing beside the giant hand of Lady Liberty, the rays of light from her torch illuminating the words “Save your child from autocracy and poverty.” Below her torch, at the child’s feet, it says “Buy war savings stamps.” Interestingly, the child is nude except for their red shoes and white socks, a detail that places this symbol of American innocence–an innocence that the poster claims needs to be protected–firmly in contemporary times. The message here personalizes the fight for the viewers, telling them that it is their child that is in danger from these vague threats and thus it is their duty to support the U.S. government.

SKU: 64588
Creator: Herbert Andrew Paus
Date: 1918
Original Medium: 1 print (poster) : lithograph, color
Location: Library of Congress