Only One Available. This U.S. WWII Poster is in great condition. The poster shows the famous Uncle Sam in his typical outfit with civilians behind him. He leads the way and urges people to enlist for the fire prevention week to raise awareness about the dangers of fire and the significance of fire defense in national interest. The poster Newell R. Johnson, the state fire marshal, played an important role in the fire defense.

For forest firefighting, World War II was a difficult time. Due to wartime rationing, it became increasingly difficult to obtain modern firefighting equipment. As more male firefighters joined the war effort, officials were faced with a dilemma. "Foresters feared that the forest fire problem would quickly spiral out of control unless the American public was made aware of [its] danger," forestry researcher J. Morgan Smith explained.

Despite the fact that federal funds had been directed toward forest fire suppression since the early twentieth century, there was no national effort to combat forest fires. The Cooperative Forest was formed when state forestry services and the Forest Service joined forces with the newly formed War Advertising Council to form the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention Program in 1942.

The program emphasized public service advertising, and posters urging the public to help the war effort by preventing forest fires were quickly distributed across the country. In 1944, the program enlisted the help of a well-known poster child, Disney's Bambi. However, Disney only agreed to lend the character to the project for a year.

Surprisingly, the only real enemy attempts to burn down forests in the United States were a failure. Between 1944 and 1945, more than 9,000 Japanese fire balloons were launched over the western United States, but the weapons caused few casualties and even less fire damage.

The poster bears the text:

NATIONAL DEFENSE
through
FIRE DEFENSE

THE NATIONAL BOARD OF FIRE UNDERWRITERS - ENLIST NOW!

FIRE PREVENTION
WEEK OCT-5-11
NEWELL R. JOHNSON
STATE FIRE MARSHALL

This unrestored original propaganda poster from the second world war is in a great condition. The edges have been well preserved, with only a small tear in the topside of the poster. There are no visible creases in the poster, which is rare for these kinds of posters, because it was originally for mailing to various government locations around the country. The colors are vibrant and the poster shows only minor signs of use, but is in a great state! The poster measures 19” by 25”.

Posters during World War II were designed to instill in the people a positive outlook, a sense of patriotism and confidence. They linked the war in trenches with the war at home. From a practical point, they were used to encourage all Americans to help with the war effort. The posters called upon every man, woman, and child to endure the personal sacrifice and domestic adjustments to further the national agenda. They encouraged rationing, conservation and sacrifice. In addition, the posters were used for recruitment, productivity, and motivation as well as for financing the war effort. The stark, colorful graphic designs elicited strong emotions. The posters played to the fears, frustrations, and faith in freedoms that lingered in people's minds during the war.