Vintage Poster Archives
Give War Bonds 1943 | Don Snider WW2 Propaganda Poster
Give War Bonds 1943 | Don Snider WW2 Propaganda Poster
Couldn't load pickup availability
A geometric Christmas tree, rendered in flat tiers of deep forest green, occupies the centre of this 1943 US Treasury poster. War bond certificates hang from its branches in place of glass baubles; red paper cones stuffed with savings stamps act as further decoration. Gift boxes in white with red and black ribbon bows are scattered at the base. A gold star sits inside a halo circle at the apex. Three lines of large, bold red slab-serif type to the left declare: GIVE WAR BONDS. The bottom of the poster carries the tagline in mixed black and red type: The Present with a Future.
Illustrated by Don Snider and published by the US Government Printing Office in 1943 (catalogue reference USGPO 1943-O-553896, WFD 856-A), the poster was issued by the US Treasury Department's War Finance Division as a Christmas-season bond-selling campaign. The composition reframes the familiar ritual of gift-giving: the tree and the wrapped boxes remain entirely legible as seasonal objects, but the ornaments are financial instruments and the act of generosity is redirected toward the war effort, with the implied promise of postwar financial return built into the tagline.
As an official US Government Printing Office publication, the design is in the public domain. The poster is held in institutional collections including the University of North Texas Digital Library and Northwestern University's digital archives. This reproduction is produced on 200gsm Enhanced Matte Fine Art Paper using pigment-based archival inks, on a natural white, smooth matte surface without optical brighteners.
Of particular interest to students of American wartime graphic design, the WW2 home-front bond campaign, and mid-century US commercial illustration.
