c.1943 V-Mail Is Speed Mail You Write He’ll Fight WWII Homefront

Date: c.1943
Artist: Unknown                   
Size (in): 30” x 11.25”  
Size (cm): 76.2 x 28.6 
Condition: A- 
Linen backed: No 

This vintage original WWII era poster featuring a patriotic red, white and blue design was issued to promote the use of V-Mail and to advertise the sale of V-Mail packets.  This is a horizontal format banner type poster that features the image of an American soldier charging forward with M1 Garand carbine and fixed bayonet with text that reads: 

V-MAIL IS SPEED MAIL You WRITE He’ll FIGHT 

The poster also shows an image of a piece of V-Mail and advertises that the wartime stationary could be purchased in 10 and 50 cent packages.  The lower right corner indicates “Sponsored By Office Of War Information’s Merchandising Committee of Army and Navy V-Mail”.  V-mail, short for Victory Mail, was a hybrid mail process, based on the earlier British developed Airgraph process, used by the United States military during WWII.  V-Mail was the primary method for those on the homefront to correspond with US military personnel serving abroad. To reduce the cost of transferring an original letter through the military postal system, a V-mail letter would be censored, copied to film, and then printed back to paper upon arrival at its destination.  The V-Mail process could reduce a pile of 150,000 letters weighing well over one ton to about 45 pounds and many hundreds of millions of letters were processed using the V-Mail process during WWII. 

This poster is free of tape or pinholes and shows only light handling wear and modest toning from age.  There is a small blemish on the lower left corner that looks like it might be a printing defect.  Overall condition is excellent for this WWII era vintage original.