Original Item: Only One Available. During World War II the U.S. Government issued millions of posters by hundreds of artists and distributed them widely throughout the country. The Office of War Information, working with various departments, was responsible for nearly all the posters. Most can be considered either warnings (careless talk), or encouragements (do your part), or fundraisers (buy war bonds).

This 20” x 14” poster with artwork by John Falter in 1942, features two soldiers wearing the doughboy style helmets reaching for an M1 Garand rifle from a foxhole. The M1 is being held out towards the soldiers, both with a look of desperation on their faces.

The text featured on the top and bottom of the poster is as follows:

“Give ‘em the stuff
to fight with…”

FIGHT FOR FREEDOM!

The footer of the poster as the following:

For additional copies write to Graphics Division, Office of Facts and Figures, Washington, D.C…Specify GPO Jacket No. 453121
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1942-O

The poster is in lovely condition with minor wear but does still present the original fold marks made during the issuing process.

Comes ready to display!

President Roosevelt was a gifted communicator. On January 6, 1941, he addressed Congress, delivering the historic "Four Freedoms" speech. At a time when Western Europe lay under NSADP domination, Roosevelt presented a vision in which the American ideals of individual liberties were extended throughout the world. Alerting Congress and the nation to the necessity of war, Roosevelt articulated the ideological aims of the conflict. Eloquently, he appealed to Americans' most profound beliefs about freedom. The speech so inspired illustrator Norman Rockwell that he created a series of paintings on the "Four Freedoms" theme. In the series, he translated abstract concepts of freedom into four scenes of everyday American life. Although the Government initially rejected Rockwell's offer to create paintings on the "Four Freedoms" theme, the images were publicly circulated when The Saturday Evening Post, one of the nation's most popular magazines, commissioned and reproduced the paintings. After winning public approval, the paintings served as the centerpiece of a massive U.S. war bond drive and were put into service to help explain the war's aims.

“We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want . . . everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear . . . anywhere in the world.”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Message to Congress, January 6, 1941