1940 The United States Army Then Now Forever Tom Woodburn
Date: 1940
Artist: Woodburn, Tom
Size (in): 38” x 25”
Size (cm): 96.5 x 63.5
Condition: B+
This vintage original United States Army recruiting poster was issued during the early days of WWII before the United States officially declared war and entered the conflict. For this poster the artist Tom Woodburn renders an image illustrating the evolution of the United States Army soldier from the Revolutionary War period up until the modern day of 1940 all under a patriotic Lady Columbia figure wrapped in an American flag and raising an olive branch of peace with her right hand. This image is bracketed by text that reads The UNITED STATES ARMY – THEN NOW FOREVER.
The Texas born Woodburn served in World War One and later served as Chief of the United States Army Recruiting Publicity Bureau during the interwar period. His wife and both daughters were also artists and one daughter served as the model for the Lady Columbia figure appearing on this poster according to a brief article on Tom Woodward that appeared in Time magazine. In addition to creating posters, Woodburn was also involved in producing U.S. Army recruiting content for radio and newspapers.
This vintage original poster has been professionally linen backed with some expert touch up as needed including repair to a tear of a couple inches without paper loss on the right edge. This posters shows some toning on the margins while retaining strong color in the image area. The address of the U.S. Army Second Recruiting District Headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire is hand stamped in ink on the lower margin. Overall condition is very good.
