1917 Delattre World War I French Propaganda Poster of the United States

This is a c. 1917 G. Delattre World War I French propaganda map of the United States. The map celebrates the U.S. entrance to WWI on the side of the Entente just a few weeks prior. This was an era-defining event that brought new hope to the long-suffering French forces then mired in a static but high-cost trench war.

A Closer Look

After years of hardship and deprivation, this map aims to raise national morale and promote the wave of fresh supplies then en route from the United States. Text in the upper right lists incoming goods, including ammunition, wheat, gasoline, cotton, machinery, ships, and soldiers. Other supplies are scattered across the U.S., such as gold, silver, iron, beef, and corn. The phrase above the map is Woodrow Wilson's quote, 'We are brothers in the same cause.' Wilson said this in his farewell speech to the French Minister of Justice (and former Premier) Rene Viviani, who visited Washington after the American declaration of war. Vivani repeated the phrase several times in public remarks after returning to Paris.

Publication History and Census

This poster was created c. 1917 and printed by G. Delattre. We note a single example in OCLC, which is at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. We also note cataloged examples in the French National Archives, the PJ Mode Collection at Cornell University, and the archives of the French Department of Calvados. The map appears occasionally on the private market.