Recollections of War > Records

Framed British Red Cross recruiting poster/print c1914

1914
Overview

1914 dated print in period timber frame showing a high class lady wearing a gold evening dress, shawl, pearls and headpiece. In the background is an ornate formal dining table with numerous candles and a couple of lamps lit in the same golden hues as her dress.
Next to her is an elegant chair upon which a Red Cross uniform is draped. The red cross on the white material is clearly visible.
At the bottom of the print are two lots of text written in blue cursive writing on a cream background. In the centre is the date 1914 and in the upper right, the publisher's details.

Historical information

This print was produced in 1914 when the Great War had just commenced. It was designed to encourage British ladies to join the Red Cross and do their bit.
It is not a typical propaganda poster in that the text is ominous and foreboding rather than appealing to patriotic fervour.

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-119-RoW00019
Item type
Posters
Prints
Themes
War and Conflict
War and Conflict > World War 1
Material
Glass
Paper
Timber
Width
410 mm
Height or length
535 mm
Inscriptions and markings

On the left hand side at the bottom of the print it reads:

"Cast off the cloak of vanity,
Put on the robe of work,
Pass through the gates to where the foes,
Death and disaster lurk."

On the right hand side at the bottom of the print it reads:

"Give freely of thy sympathy,
Think not of gold or gain:
The Red Cross calls, Pass through the gates
From pleasure unto pain."

In the centre of the two pieces of text is the date "1914" and in the upper right "A.R. Co., Ltd., London."

Keywords
Red Cross
Recruiting Poster
Print
First World War
1914
Place made
London
United Kingdom
Year
1914
Primary significance criteria
Artistic or aesthetic significance
Historic significance
Social or spiritual significance
Comparative significance criteria
Interpretive capacity
Recollections of War

Recollections of War

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WWI British Red Cross recruiting poster showing a high status woman in her fine clothes and jewellery and suggesting she cast them off to become a Red cross nurse
WWI British Red Cross recruiting poster showing a high status woman in her fine clothes and jewellery and suggesting she cast them off to become a Red Cross nurse.
First part of text at bottom of poster
First part of text at bottom of poster.
Second part of text at bottom of poster
Second part of text at bottom of poster.

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