When I first started collecting a reputable seller on ebay auctioned about ten very old war posters from France and England. They were all on very old linen, and about half had a certificate of authenticity. I was real wet behind the ears at the time and don't recall much about the certificate itself other than they looking legit (because those are impossible to fake, right?) The posters were said to be part of a 1915 exhibition and sale by Mrs. Fiske Warren, or Gretchen Osgood, an actress, singer and poet born in Boston from an affluent family. You can find more info on wikipedia, including a portrait of her and her daughter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretchen_Osgood_Warren
With Renaissance blood in her veins perhaps Ms. Osgood endeavored to gather, exhibit and sell 200 war posters (
already hard to come by in 1915) in December 1915 in Copley Hall, Boston. The purpose was to raise funds for the hundreds of thousands of displaced Belgian refugees living in London, who would be put to work knitting wool clothing for the men at the front. Here is a postcard announcing the exhibit.
The Harvard Crimson has both notices from 1915 announcing the sale.
Dec 2, 1915 http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1915/12/2/mrs-warren-to-exhibit-posters-pa/
Dec 10, 1915 http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1915/12/10/exhibition-and-sale-of-war-posters/
I recently found online, evidence that Ms Osgood maintained an interest after this sale, loaning 99 posters to the Worcester Art Museum (Massachusetts) in June 1916, probably some of the leftovers from December 1915, still for sale. There's a really interesting Foreword with quotes from Mrs. Osgood herself about their collectable importance.. In the list of the 99 some of you war poster buffs might recognize a few.
https://archive.org/stream/exhibitionoffren00worc#page/n0/mode/2upThe two that I managed to snag years ago were not among those that had certificates, which might explain why they went for a little less and I was able to win the auction. Anyway, they are not on this list of the leftover 99 from 1916, and I like to think that adds cred to the story that they did come from the original sale in December 1915 (naysayers - go fuck yourselves)
They are 31 x 47 inches, on
very old linen with the original tacks used to hang them. Despite their age, they are in remarkable shape. They both advertise the Journee du Poilu, more or less designated days organized by the French government where civilians could collect funds to support their loved ones coming home, in this case for Christmas. Involving kids and families in the war is propaganda at its best and not exclusive to France of course. The Poilus (or the Hairys) was a colloquial French term for veteran soldiers. These were organized months in advanced, which would explain how this poster might have been in Ms. Osgoode’s sale in the US before the event actually took place on Christmas. The second poster has a medal in the top right corner which were also minted before the event, as tokens for those who contributed money. The same poster was also used for the October campaign that year.
Thanks for reading!