{"product_id":"original-u-s-wwii-victory-mail-be-with-him-at-every-mail-call-us-army-postal-service-promotional-poster-21-x-28","title":"Original U.S. WWII Victory Mail “Be With Him at Every Mail Call” US Army Postal Service Promotional Poster - 21” x 28”","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal Item: Only One Available. V-mail, short for Victory Mail, was a hybrid mail process used by the United States during the Second World War as the primary and secure method to correspond with soldiers stationed abroad. To reduce the cost of transferring an original letter through the military postal system, a V-mail letter would be censored, copied to film, and printed back to paper upon arrival at its destination. The V-mail process is based on the earlier British Airgraph process.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eV-mail correspondence was on small letter sheets, 17.8 by 23.2 cm (7 by 9+1⁄8 in), that would go through mail censors before being photographed and transported as thumbnail-sized images in negative microfilm. Upon arrival at their destination the negatives would be printed. The final print was 60% of the original document's size, creating a sheet 10.7 by 13.2 cm (4+1⁄4 by 5+1⁄4 in).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to the National Postal Museum, \"V-mail ensured that thousands of tons of shipping space could be reserved for war materials. The 37 mail bags required to carry 150,000 one-page letters could be replaced by a single mail sack. The weight of that same amount of mail was reduced dramatically from 2,575 pounds to a mere 45.\" This saved considerable weight and bulk in a time in which both were hard to manage in a combat zone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to postal censorship, V-mail also deterred espionage communications by foiling the use of invisible ink, microdots, and microprinting, none of which would be reproduced in a photocopy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis lovely, unrestored original poster was used as a method of promoting the use of the Victory Mail to correspond with the servicemen and women overseas. In today’s military, something similar is used, called “Moto Mail”. Moto Mail would essentially be used the same way and reduce the amount of paper weight being sent. Families would write a letter in an email and then the military would have it printed out overseas for distribution.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis poster features the girlfriend or wife of a soldier as she writes a letter to her “Johnny”. The text reads:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBe with him\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAt every mail call\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV-MAIL IS PRIVATE, RELIABLE, PATRIOTIC.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bottom reads:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePHOTOGRAPH BY LEJAREN a HILLER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRECRUITING PUBLICITY BUREAU\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUNITED STATES ARMY\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePX-73-RPB - 1-19-45 - 200M\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe poster is in good condition but has original heavy folding marks, with some light tearing along these folds and at other spots along the edges. There is a tear in the word every as well, but the poster retains its color very well overall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis lovely poster comes ready to be mounted, framed and displayed!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43571932823621,"sku":"ONJR25APRM069","price":295.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/files\/ONJR25APRM069__01.jpg?v=1757365730","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-u-s-wwii-victory-mail-be-with-him-at-every-mail-call-us-army-postal-service-promotional-poster-21-x-28","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}