When resources were tight

We live in times which, at least in historical comparison, is resource rich.  It wasn't all that long ago that the opposite was true.  

Here, we look at a few posters demonstrating things related to this.  The era up through the end of World War Two was the golden age of poster art in some ways, and not only do these help demonstrate the point a bit, but they also are very interesitng examples, to a degree, on poster art, a form which has much declined.

A Great Depression era poster for the Farm Resettlement Administration, an agency which resettled displaced farmer.  This Depression Era program was largely unsuccessful.

 This dramatic poster was based on a photograph of French women doing this very thing during World War One.  The photograph was used for a series of American and Canadian posters, some of which were in French, for the French Canadian audience.

 The Woman's Land Army was an effort, started in the United Kingdom, to take volunteer female labor and place it out in the countryside where it was desperately needed to replace male farm labor, which was serving at the front.  During World War One, agriculture remained largely horse, or even bovine, powered, which in turn required additional human labor.  Male labor was desperately short everywhere in the agriculture and forestry sectors during the war, and correspondingly there was a dedicated effort to place women in these roles.

 The same sort of effort as that depicted above, with women, directed at male labor. Here, those men not at the front, and instead in the office, were urged to help with the cotton harvest.

 A Depression Era poster informing the viewer of the nature of markets. As surely everyone at that time was well aware of it, the point of this poster is hard to grasp.  Now, it would make a lot more sense.

 An American poster making the interesting point that it would be a good thing to have to ship less food overseas if at all possible, for dramatic reasons.

 Another Depression poster in the series noted above.

 World War Two era American poster in which a community organization offers to help educate on the topic of food preservation.  Part of a general effort to encourage Victory Gardens during the war, and thereby take the pressure off the agricultural sector.

 Another World War Two era poster, but what exactly motivated I'm not sure.

 Same poster as above, with more details.

 A poster noting the role of Donut Dollies during World War One.

 A blunt point made during WWI.

 An interesting United States Food Administration poster from World War One recalling the importance of ice, in the era before widespread refrigeration of any kind.

 World War Two's Victory Gardens are widely remembered.  World War One's War Gardens less so.  Arguably, however, the effort may have been more important in World War One.

 The Spirit of 1918.

 I believe that this poster may have been done by James Montgomery Flagg, who is most famous for his World War One depiction of Uncle Sam.  It's interesting how he he depicted this female patriotic form, which was a widely used image in a series of posters.  The cap, fwiw, is a "liberty cap", an image strongly associated with the French Revolution.

 The businessman's downtown lunch was exempted form the campaign during World War One.

 An effort was made during World War One to encourage Americans to use grains other than wheat, as wheat was needed for the war effort in Europe.

 Sugar was apparently in short supply during World War One.

 Another poster is a series encouraging Americans to use other grains during World War One.  I can't find rye flour anywhere now, by the way.  If somebody reads this and knows where to get it, post a comment!

 Not only was wheat, and meats, short.  Fats were too during WWI.  Now, you'll hear urgings to use less fat for frying for other reasons. During WWI, it was urged so that fats were available at the front.

 A recruiting poster recruiting. . . farmers.

 Fishing of any kind, including commercial fishing, is simply a species of hunting.  Hunting harvest an animal that feeds itself, the point made by this poster.

 Now, there are those who complain about "Big Corn".  During WWI, American corn production was seen as a solution to wheat shortages.

 After the various posters in this series are viewed, I'd frankly be afraid to see some of the photos.

 Kids weren't exempt form the pitch during World War One.

 A Canadian poster.

 A Canadian poster pitching not only to patriotism, but to the wallet.

 Food hording was apparently illegal in Canada during World War One.  It was not on a Federal basis in the United States, nor was there rationing in the US.  However, some states rationed, such as Montana, which actually made a few prosecutions for violations of their state law of this period.

This one urges the obvious (or hopefully so) but I'm not really sure of its context.

Apparently the Young Women's Christian Association had a land service, just like the Women's Land Army.

A World War Two vintage poster urging you basically to like rationing.

This is a World War Two poster that recalls the Women's Land Army of World War One.  The U.S. Crop Corps was a similar effort, recruiting non farm labor to farm employment for the war.

Curious WWII poster, as surely everything that could be done, was being done.

World War Two poster which urged the planing of Victory Gardens.

This poster romantically depicts a non farm couple working on the farm for the summer during World War Two.

A poster urging canning food during World War Two.

This one is almost frightening, as it somewhat implies that if you don't grow your own, there might not be enough for the upcoming winter.

This poster and the poster above warn about the consequences of working without rest, or proper diet. A bit of a different message from some of the other posters here.

From:  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/INF3-101_Food_Production_Lend_a_hand_with_the_potato_harvest_%28workers_in_basket%29.jpg

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.  Interesting British poster advertising farming as a wartime holiday.

 From:  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/INF3-102_Food_Production_Lend_a_hand_with_the_potato_harvest_%28workers_in_field%29.jpg

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/INF3-107_Food_Production_Lend_a_hand_on_the_land_at_an_Agricultural_Camp_Artist_Le_Bon.jpg

By Unknown ("Le Bon") [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/INF3-224_Salvage_We_want_your_kitchen_waste_%28pig_with_dustbin%29_Artist_Gilroy.jpg

John Gilroy [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

This British poster is a little scary to think of.  Today, and I'd think to a degree even then, using kitchen waste to feed pigs, on this scale, would not be regarded as a very good idea.