"Dish It Out with The Navy" Vintage WWII Recruitment Poster by McClelland Barclay, 1942

$950.00

Presented in an original WWII Naval recruitment sign by McClelland Barclay. The small tabletop sign was issued on September 10, 1942 and printed on cardboard, for display in shops or community centers. The sign depicts Naval seamen loading a cannon for an attack, with smoke filled skies behind them. Above the dramatic scene, the text, “Dish It Out with The Navy,” is printed in bold white block letters against a bright blue background.

The sign urges young men to "Choose Now- While You Can, Go To Your Nearest Naval Recruiting Station Today.'' It encouraged young men of conscription age to sign up for the Navy before the draft was enacted. WWII was the first time American men were required to register for a draft during peacetime, 15 months before the country was officially at war.

McClelland Barclay was already a successful painter, illustrator, sculptor, and jewelry maker before he became a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve in 1938. Throughout his accomplished career, he not only designed recruitment posters but also illustrated magazine covers such as Cosmopolitan and Saturday Evening Post. On July 18, 1943, less than a year after this sign was published, Barclay perished after a Japanese Submarine torpedoed the naval ship he was aboard. Posthumously, in 1944, Barclay was awarded the Art Directors Club Medal, "in recognition of his long and distinguished record in editorial illustration and advertising art and in honor of his devotion and meritorious service to his country as a commissioned officer of the United States Navy."

CONDITION:

Color lithograph, printed on cardboard. Tabletop cardboard sign stand attached t th eback, as issued. Colors are very vibrant. White margins. Corners are creased, tear to lithograph at bottom center, into image and last line of text. "Order No. 2" printed at bottom left in blue. " 33462--9-10-42--185M" printed at bottom right. Sold unframed, as-is. Unframed Dimensions: 20"H x 14" W (sheet size).