This is a GENUINE Original Poster that was issued by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee in 1914. As annotated to the bottom of the poster - on the white margin. It was printed at Dobson, Molle & Co. Ltd., Color Printers, Edinr. & London.
It is entitled: Your King & Country Need You to Maintain the Honour and Glory of the British Empire. A Wee “Scrap o’ Paper” is Britain’s Bond.
It is NOT a reproduction, but an example printed in chromo-lithograph and dating to 1914.
Dimensions: height: 74.50 cm, width: 50.00 cm
This is the artist Lawson Wood's contribution to WWI British recruitment campaign and designed this poster which was targeted to the Scots. The design shows a Scottish Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) soldier in uniform with a kilt, standing on a street corner in a Belgian village.
The caption's reference is to the Germans declaring the Treaty of London (1839), which granted Belgium's neutrality and independence, as a "scrap of paper", then violating the treaty they signed and invading.
As in the rest of Europe, the outbreak of the First World War was greeted with popular acclaim in Britain. Around 30,000 men were enlisting every day by the end of August 1914. By December 1915, over two million men had enlisted. Neither the Second World War nor more recent conflicts have generated anything like this degree of enthusiasm. Men enlisted for all manner of reasons, including patriotism, the desire to quit a boring job for an exciting adventure or the chance to see another country.
These original posters are now hard to find for sale - examples are in many prestigious museums and public art collections.
This one is in pretty good condition for its age - the sheet measures 74.5 x 50 cm.
CONDITION: The colours remain nice and bright with hardly any fading. The paper is fragile - as these posters were printed on cheap, poorer quality paper - and not meant to be kept in any long-term. The poster has a fold line along the horizontal middle section - and a couple of creases to the sheet here and there - the creases are quite minor in nature - and have no major effect on the display of this work. The condition is reflected in my asking price for this hard-to-find poster.
Please see my other two WWI recruitment posters on my site. This antique poster is currently unframed - but will be sold with a new cream window-mount.
Postage in the UK - will be capped at £10 for next-day delivery. This will be applied to your order at the checkout.