World War I Poster - Theatre Event Bill
Item Information
- Title:
- World War I Poster - Theatre Event Bill
- Description:
-
This World War I poster shows the comedy and tragedy theater masks in front of the American and French flags, behind which are oak and laurel leaves. A sword is between the two masks, with a french helmet balanced on its point. Behind the sword is the YMCA red triangle, while in front it reads "YMCA." This image is at the top of a decorative border of bound laurel. The center is empty, and the bottom reads, "Les Foyers du Soldat," "Union Franco-Americaine." This poster was used to announce theatre events at the canteens in France.
- Creator:
- Dorival, Geo, 1879-
- Creator:
- Coquemer Imprimeur, Paris
- Date:
-
1918
- Format:
-
Documents
- Location:
- Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
- Collection (local):
-
College Archives Digital Collections
- Series:
- IMLS YMCA Posters
- Subjects:
-
International Young Men's Christian Association
World War, 1914-1918
YMCA
Posters
Theater programs
- Extent:
- 80 x 61 cm
- Link to Item:
- http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/2283
- Terms of Use:
-
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Babson Library, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
Contact host institution for more information.
- Publisher:
-
Springfield College
- Language:
-
French
- Notes:
-
Masks like Comedy and Tragedy (i.e. Janus masks or Melpomene and Thalia), which have come to stand as symbols of theatre, were used as early as 5 B.C. in Greek theatre, allowing actors to better broadcast their characters' emotions across the amphitheaters and to assume a larger number of roles. General Pershing, in explaining the importance of humanitarian services, said, "Morale is a state of mind upheld by entertainment." In entertaining the American Army: the American stage and lyceum in the World War (1921), James Evans and Gardner Harding explain that when General Pershing asked for entertainers from home to travel overseas, "the theatrical world stood ready to go to France en masse and now." This ferver combined with the army's incredibly strict regulations inspired the creation of The Over There Theatre League, which set up a practical plan for ascertaining the exact requirements of the Army and helped actors to negotiate bureaucratic red tape. The first volunteers for the Over There Theatre League left home on July 31, 1918, and the last on May 15, 1919. The artist, Justin Marie Georges Dorival (1879-1968), trained in Paris at the National School of Decorative Arts. Before the war, he was a well-known poster artist for tourism and advertising industries. During World War I, Dorival designed posters for the French Red Cross, the YMCA, and the Women’s Union of France. Throughout his career as a graphic artist, he signed his work “Geo Dorival.”
- Identifier:
-
SC17006