1917 Lloyd Myers World War I Propaganda Recruiting Broadside

In this iconic c. 1917 Lloyd Myers World War I recruiting broadside, a British soldier stands in Britain and France while a well-dressed recruit looms over the United States and the two clasp hands over the Atlantic. When this broadside appeared, Britain had been fighting in World War I (1914 - 1918) for over two years. The trench warfare on the Western Front had decimated the British Army. During the Battle of the Somme, which raged from July 1, 1916 until November 18, 1916, the British suffered over 57,000 casualties.

The British and Canadian Recruiting Mission

The British and Canadian Recruiting Mission operated under the British War Office and was created to recruit British subjects in the United States as well as Americans to serve in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and recruited approximately 45,000 individuals before the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917. One of its major offices was at 280 Broadway in New York City.

Publication History and Census

This iconic broadside was created by Lloyd Myers and published c. 1917 likely by the British and Canadian Recruiting Mission. This broadside is well represented in institutional collections.