Canadian Wartime Propaganda

First World War

Design approaches in Canada during the First World War were often heavily word based, using simple, descriptive images to convey their messages. Whether sentimental reminders of the need to support "the boys" at the front, or jingoistic, viciously drawn attacks on "the Hun" (Germans), the occasional wordiness of such posters, as well as their period imagery, can nevertheless require some decoding in order to be understood by today's reader. Historical references, or allusions to then-current political or military events, would have been very clear to contemporary readers.

Propaganda Posters

Wartime Photos