Send them all Snap-shots from home..... Accession Number: ARTV05853

Description

Australian First World War poster issued by the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) to promote the Snapshots - from - Home League of Australia. The Snapshots - from - Home League was established in Australia in early 1916 by Mr A.B. Pursell, a director of the YMCA (Sydney). He had been inspired by the work of the British League while working in London in 1915. The league aimed to help morale at the front by supplying soldiers with photographs from home to fight '...the invisible enemy of men at the front..hearthunger, loneliness, isolation, homesickness..." .

The YMCA distributed 'Snap Shots from Home' application forms to the men at the front and then passed completed forms to members of the Local Leagues in Australia. Amateur photographers were asked to volunteer their time to take photographs of families for the league which were then forwarded for free again via the YMCA to the men at the front. Relatives at home could also apply to the League. During the First World War over 6000 amateur Australian photographers working for 800 local leagues sent a total of 150,000 photographs to serving men. The Snapshots from Home League of Australia was also active during the Second World War.

This poster is one of several Australian copies of a series of British posters commissioned in 1915 by the YMCA and featuring illustrations by the artist Fred Pegram. It features a central image of a group of soldiers, some on horseback, in a French village (same image as used in ARTV05498). They are smiling and sharing around snapshots they have just received from home. In the upper right is an image of a young female amateur photographer taking a photograph of a mother holding her baby girl in front of their home. In the upper left is an image of the same mother holding her child up to post their photograph into a mail box. The YMCA emblem is positioned lower centre left and right with the title and text positioned lower to bottom centre. Both the images and text are set against a white background within a grey border.

Details

Conflicts

• First World War, 1914-1918

Places

• Australia

Tags

• Horses
• Children
• Mothers
• Photographers
• Home front
• Photographs