1943 This Is Our Own, Our Native Land Abbott Laboratories Adolph Dehn WWII

Date: 1943
Artist: Dehn, Adolph        
Size (in): 12” x 9”
Size (cm): 30.5 x 23
Condition: A-
Linen backed: No

This color advertising insert was commissioned from the artist Adolph Dehn by Abbott Laboratories during WWII.  Dehn renders an idealized image of a midwestern farmstead with a red schoolhouse and white steepled church adjacent all under the protective cover of a billowing American flag.  Text across the top of the poster reads “This Is Our Own, Our Native Land”.   The location isn’t given but looks very much like the topography characteristic of the region around Dehn’s childhood home Waterville in Southern Minnesota.  Dehn’s name appears signed in print in the lower right corner of the image area.  

Abbott Laboratories was a primary supplier of medical products to the United States military during WWII and commissioned a great deal of propaganda themed artwork during the conflict.   This particular piece by Adolph Dehn was used as advertising circular mailed out to doctor offices and a variation of it was included in a rare portfolio of Abbott Laboratories WWII themed commissioned artwork titled “All-In:”  This example is the variation that was tipped into the All-In portfolio.  This “All-In” portfolio is extremely rare and was probably only used as a sales aid by the company’s salespeople.    

This advertising insert is folded to a four page pamphlet format measuring 12” x 9” per page.  The front cover features Dehn’s painting and two inside pages feature an advertisement for Abbott Sulfonamides with artwork by the famed WWII combat artist Robert Benney.  The back cover page is blank (whereas the advertising circular mailed out to doctor’s offices had advertising printed on the back cover page). 

This scarce vintage original WWII piece shows only light handling wear and a few small areas of contact surface loss to paper on verso (not affecting the cover of inside pages) from having been tipped into the Abbott Laboratories “All-In” WWII artwork portfolio. Overall condition is otherwise very good for this very rare vintage original.