Eat More Fish. 1917.

Artist: CHARLES LIVINGSTON BULL (1874-1932)
Size: 20 1/8 x 30 in./51.2 x 76.2 cm
Condition: A-/ Slight tears at edges.
Printer: Heywood, Strasser & Voigt Litho., New York
Reference: Ref: American Posters, 65; Rawls, p. 10 & back cover; DFP-I, 191; PAI-LXXVI, 99
Key Words: Art Nouveau; World War I; American; Food/Drink; Propaganda

Eat More Fish. 1917.
Even at 103 years old, this message from the United States Food Administration wouldn't be out of place today among health- and climate-conscious diners (so long as the fish is wild caught, of course). In 1917, however, it was a deadly serious appeal to prevent the U.S. from floundering in Flanders. The standard military ration (its protein portion, at any rate) consisted of 12 ounces fresh bacon or a pound of corned beef. An army moves on its belly, and by May 1918 there were over 1,000,000 doughboys in France, with 10,000 more arriving each day, each demanding three squares by nightfall. So, for the soldiers' hake, put pollock on thy plate. Charles Livingston Bull rose to artistic fame through animal-oriented wartime propaganda, and later, Ringling Bros. Circus posters—a suitable progression from his first job as a taxidermist in Washington, D.C.