The Betsy Ross Corps was a paramilitary corps of women pilots, set up to support national defence and to act as "air minutemen" in emergencies.
The Betsy Ross Corps was founded in 1931 by the aviator Opal Kunz. Licensed women pilots could join, and student pilots could join as cadets. Florence "Pancho" Barnes and Marjorie Stinson were at its first meeting. The trophy sketch at the centre is by Anna Hyatt Huntington (1876 to 1973), who was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1932 and received the French Legion of Honour for her sculpture.
Swann Galleries dates the design to around 1931. The foot of the sheet names three area officers and a local telephone number.
On the poster
A white and grey low-wing monoplane banks hard against billowing clouds on a deep cobalt blue ground. At the centre, framed like a display case, is a monochrome sculptural trophy: a winged Victory figure on a crescent-and-star plinth, credited in italic script to Anna Hyatt Huntington. Three lines of bold red condensed type to the left read "MERCY FROM THE SKIES". The organisation's name fills the lower part of the sheet in large red italic lettering, with "Join to learn" in dark navy beneath it.
About this print
A digitally restored reproduction, printed on 200gsm Enhanced Matte Fine Art paper with pigment inks.
