[German monster] [picture] / Issued by the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia
- Bib ID:
- 456516
- Format:
- Picture
- Author:
- Australia. Parliament
- Online Version:
- National Library of Australia digitised item. POSTER 2023-742 copy
- Description:
-
- Melbourne : [s.n., 1918?]
- 1 poster : col. ; sheet 50.8 x 38.2 cm.
- Summary:
-
Poster depicts a German ogre, his blood-covered hands and forearms clutching at a globe of the world. Blood pours over Europe, and slowly oozes towards other countries, demonstrating the threat of the German menace and the need to contain it. The first of a series of posters drawn by Norman Lindsay for the last of the nation-wide Australian recruiting campaign in 1918, '?' constitutes one of the rare examples in war poster art produced without a letterpress. An excellent instance of the crude caricature and vilification of the enemy, and in keeping with Lindsay's portrayal of 'the Hun' in his many cartoons for the 'Sydney 'Bulletin' at the time. '?' was distributed surreptitiously, and pasted up throughout Australia on a designated night. The design, also known as 'The Ogre' or 'German Monster', appeared on one of the leaflets issued in conjunction with the six posters. Here, the Ogre reappears in a standing position above the caption 'The Thing We Fight'. The appearance of '?' provoked some protest in parliament, and the Minister for Recruiting, R. B. Orchard, considered withdrawing it in October 1918. However, previous to this, (in early 1918), Orchard had gathered together Lindsay's posters as part of a 'Recruitment kit', which included a film made using Lindsay's German monster, and also letters inveighing the reader to join. The kit, which included Lindsay's posters, film, letters calling for recruits,and instructions for the rural and metropolitan press, represent a sophisticated and targeted mass media engagement with the populace. Norman Lindsay (1879-1970) was a painter, draughtsman, illustrator, cartoonist, printmaker, writer and sculptor. He joined the Sydney 'Bulletin' magazine as a staff artist, 1901-09, 1910-23 and 1932-58. During the First World War he produced jingoistic cartoons and pro-conscription posters--Australia War Memorial website, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/ARTV00078/ viewed 8 December 2015. "Issued by the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia" appears lower left.
- Notes:
-
- Library holds the original drawings by Norman Lindsay for the poster.
- POSTER 2023-742 copy Also available online https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136208830
- Subject:
- Other authors/contributors:
- Lindsay, Norman, 1879-1969
- Also Titled:
-
- ? [interrogation mark]
- [Ogre]
- Exhibited:
-
- Exhibited: "Inked: Australian Cartoons", National Library of Australia, March - August 2019.
- Exhibited: "Keepsakes: Australians and the Great War", National Library of Australia, 26 November 2014 - 19 July 2015
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2039 [Creator Date of Death + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Artistic
- Presumed date of death of creator (latest date):
- 1969
- Published status:
- Published
- Publication date:
- 1918
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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