World War I poster - Les Foyers du Soldat, L'Union Franco-Americaine
Description:
The poster is untitled but contains the YMCA initials and logo at the top, and the names of two organizations, Les Foyers du Soldat, and l'Union Franco-Americaine at the bottom.
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Les Foyers du Soldat was a French organization that provided relief work to soldiers during the war. L'Union Franco-Americaine consisted of a formal arrangement between the French Army and the YMCA. The YMCA also provided services to soldiers; the organization maintained over 1500 hostels where members of the military could eat, sleep, bathe and relax. This poster provides an example of the notices printed for the YMCA at this time. The poster is blank in the center and the space was or may have been used as a sign-up sheet for members of YMCA participating for a certain event. In the picture, the organization's emblem at the top is surrounded by different types of sports equipment. The artist, Justin Marie Georges Dorival, had trained in Paris at the National School of Decorative Arts. Before the war, he garnered increasing fame as a poster artist for tourism and advertizing industries. During World War I, Dorival designed posters for the French Red Cross and the Women's Union of France. He also created war time posters for organizations in the United States, such as the YMCA. Throughout his career as a graphic artist, he signed his work as "Geo Dorival."
