The spirit of '18 - The world cry, food - Keep the home garden going

This is an original copy of a government poster that was distributed across the nation by the US Food Administration in 1918 as a plea for Americans to help both their country and the world during World War I by growing their own gardens. Home grown gardens, also known as victory gardens,  were encouraged to feed families, allowing the government to ship food over seas to the starving troops in Europe. It was designed by William McKee and references the Spirit of ‘76, a painting from the American revolutionary war, which depicts 3 men playing instruments walking through a war field. Instead of the instruments, the 3 men in the World Cry Food poster are holding baskets of food, however still implying the same message of patriotism with both the imagery and Spirit of ’18 written in the top left hand corner. 

This is a key part of graphic design history as it references a period where important messages were more often than not put out into the world using posters. It is important to use eye catching design to grab attention of the viewer to consider the message, which is something I believe William McKee achieved with his simple color pallet and overall flat imagery. 

Claire De La Mare 

References:

“THE WORLD CRY FOOD WWI POSTER,” May 1, 2024. https://www.typeandink.com/the-world-cry-for-food-1918-poster.html.

“The Spirit of ’18--The World Cry, Food--Keep the Home Garden Going / Wm. McKee.” Library Of Congress. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3g04455/.

Anchor. “The Spirit of ’18- -The World Cry, Food- -Keep the Home Garden Going.” Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.ncpedia.org/media/spirit-18-world-cry-food-keep.

Marblehead Historical Commissions. “Spirit of ’76 Painting.” Accessed May 1, 2024. https://marbleheadhistory.org/spirit-of-76-painting/.