c.1919 Our Soldiers In Siberia Siberian Intervention WWI

Date: c.1919
Artist: Petrtyl, August   
Size (in): 32.5” x 23”
Size (cm): 82.5 x 58.4
Condition: A/A-
Linen backed: No

This is an antique original and very rare poster honoring the American soldiers that served in the so-called 1918 to 1920 Siberian Intervention.   This poster was created by the Czech American artist August Petrtyl and issued in the United States to promote the sale of War Savings Stamps which could be purchased for small amounts of spare change, saved up and then redeemed to purchase war bonds which in this case would have been the Victory Liberty Loan, the fifth and final series of bonds issued in April 1919 to finance WWI.   

For this poster Petrtyl renders an image of an American solider walking with a soldier from the Czechoslovak Legion in a snowy scene under the title Merry Christmas with the Cecho-Slovaks 1918.  Text at the top of the poster reads: 

OUR SOLDIERS IN SIBERIA! They Have Gone Over The Top For Us. Let Us Go Over The Top For Them. Buy War Savings Stamps. 

The War Savings Stamps logo is printed in the lower right corner and the lower left corner indicates the printer as the Illinois Litho. Company of Chicago.   Petrtyl’s name is signed in print in the lower right corner of the image area.  

The Siberian Intervention, or Siberian Expedition as it is sometimes called, was a part of the larger Allied Intervention in the Russia Civil War that saw the Western Powers along with Japan and China attempt to intervene to support the White Russians against the Bolsheviks.  An American Expeditionary Force – Siberia was formed, which would eventually total almost 8,000 men, and would begin to deploy to Russia’s far east around Vladivostok in August of 1918.  AEF-Siberia’s objectives included bolstering the White Russians, fighting the Bolsheviks and assisting the beleaguered Czechoslovak Legion, which had become trapped in Soviet Russia, return to the European front.  We know of no other American military poster from the era that makes reference to the Siberian Intervention which lasted 19 months ending in April 1920. 

This antique original poster is free of tape or pinholes and looks pretty well unused with no tape or pinholes and just slight toning from age and light handling wear.  Overall condition is excellent.