Summer's here and the time is right for decorating your home with bizarre patriotism!
Heritage Auctions, the leader in curated online auctions, is hosting a fun bidding war on propaganda posters from the great wars of the 20th Century. What's that, you say? You didn't think that the US did propaganda? That it was only for the "other" countries? No way, mon frère! The US was all about those images of glory and victory and hope and racism that the government used to get people to enlist, recycle, and (most often) BUY WAR BONDS!
The auction runs until August 16, so you have a few days to peruse these finds from the previous century. But who's the target audience? Where should you put them up in your home? How will I explain these to people I have over to my house, apartment, or bunker? Don't worry friends and allies, Pop Heist is here to walk you through some of these incredible gifts.
Please keep in mind that these prices are current as of the time of writing, Aug. 6, 2025 at 4 PM or thereabouts.
World War I "Christy Girl" Propaganda. 1918.
Clear the way! Let's go all the way back to 1918, when the United States joined the first World War. What if you were a dude who was really into hot women? What if you were a dude who was really into hot men? Well, this poster serves both of you dudes. It's a sea of scantily clad women and rippling dude muscles, and that's going to get you to part with your money and buy some bonds. It might even get you to enlist, although there will be slightly more stripped down men on your boat than women in diaphanous dress.
Current price: $59
Who's this for? I'm going to exclude history buffs from all of these, since that group of eggheads (me included) would be interested in all of these because history. So aside from us historians, this would be a perfect gift for a barely closeted military buff who will talk your ear off about the stylish Christy Girl while staring directly at the wet men.
Where to hang it? "Clear the way" makes this perfect for a hallway leading to a bathroom. Ha ha, poop joke. Welcome to Pop Heist.
Victor Brzezinski: Choice Wines. Liquors, Beers & Cigars. 1910's
I didn't make an Attack On Titan joke with the previous poster, but this one follows in its giant footsteps. The description of this pre-war poster claims that Uncle Sam is dancing with children, which would explain the size difference, but as this poster is for wines, liquors, beer, and cigars, I have my suspicions that these folks in national dress are of legal drinking age. I'm not going to look up early 20th century liquor laws, but there had to have been some force that prevented children from drinking hooch and dancing in a circle with a weirdly hairy man who possesses no shadow.
Current price: $39
Who's this for? Kaiju fans, crushing fetishists, that 20-something guy who buys beer for high school kids.
Where to hang it? Put this one in the kids' playroom and say it's Uncle Sam playing with some kids, but remove it before they get old enough to read and start asking why it's an ad for booze.
World War I Propaganda Poster. (U.S. Government Printing Office). 1918.
Personally, this one might be my favorite of the whole auction. It's a World War I poster that, again, encourages people to BUY WAR BONDS. "Finishing the job" refers to funding the war and keeping a steady flow of money to the War Office. Of course, the way the poster is designed, this man looks like he's planning to finish the job with his genitals. That headline is plural and I'll be damned if I can find another person in this image. "Come get lost in my overalls," he says to us. "We'll finish the job. You and me. Sure."
Current price: $30
Who's this for? No one, don't buy this, I already have a substantial bid on it.
Where to hang it? This one's for the office. Hang it by your desk so when you're having an argument with a client, they can keep looking over and going, "Is that guy going to…he wouldn't would he? Like, whip it out? That would be weird." It's a power move. Look it up.
Jugglers Belong in the Circus. (National Safety Council). 1940s-1950s.
Less a war propaganda poster and more of just a general "fucking up your job fucks up America somehow" poster, this gem is a masterpiece of graphic design. How does it get away with all the empty space up on the right? How does it get away with red on green? How does it get away with three separate headline fonts? No idea. But it works. You can just imagine some hot-headed boss screaming this at some warehouse guy dressed as the Joker, and that guy having to take precious seconds to understand what he was talking about. When forklifts became big, this poster was probably retired, but it is a hoot.
Current price: $30
Who's this for? Bosses who don't feel that everything needs an explanation, people who are into clown fashion.
Where to hang it? Oh baby, this is going on the break room door, the loading dock door, and on every available surface in the shipping department. Photocopy it.
World War II Propaganda (Alcoa Aluminum). 1940s.
There is a story being told here, and you have to look closely to spot it. The aluminum robot is not a fantasy. He's not a spokescharacter that lives in a different place than the family. No, he's in their home and they can see him. Presumably, the son made him, probably for sex purposes, and everyone thinks that's hella strange. But they also know that the aluminum man is strong, and can kill them. It's already telling them how they should eat. If they don't eat wholesome and nourishing food, the robot will destroy their fragile bodies. They have to keep smiling. The sister sees it but is forbidden to react. Dad's smile gives him away; it's all a front so he won't be crushed by the gloved hands. Mom is trying to get through this meal, but at the first sign of non-wholesome food (I'm not sure what that would be. Carp?), she's being turned into a mom-scented paste.
Current price: $39
Who's this for? Oh, 100% for people who want to fuck robots. They existed back then like they do now, except their robots were big and blocky instead of plastic and anime-inspired. It's a very specific niche, but these guys will love their old poster of their new friend.
Where to hang it? Presumably any place you'd like to attract people looking to fuck old robots.
World War II Propaganda (Abbott Laboratories). 1943.
The Heritage Auction website describes thusly, "...this World War II war bonds poster tugs on the heart strings of the viewers, showing an example of just what the soldiers overseas were having to leave behind." But does it? This could be showing and saying several different things. For one, it's an example that you could more or less slap a patriotic image on a poster and add "BUY WAR BONDS" and it would pass muster. A drawing of a boat + BUY WAR BONDS = success. A photo of Roosevelt taking aim at a giant barn that looks sort of like Hitler + BUY WAR BONDS = double success.
But aside from the general utility of BUY WAR BONDS, I'm not positive of who the person on the left is, or where they are. Is that supposed to be his wife with him in uniform? Is the soldier making time with another woman in a foxhole? Are your WAR BONDS funding this man's tryst in the field of battle? Could that be a dude? Could that be a dude he knows from the platoon or just some dude he met while on patrol near an enticing foxhole? Will the WAR BONDS you purchase assist this G.I. as he cruises around Europe from foxhole to foxhole? We can only hope.
Current price: $30
Who's this for? Quiet, uncomplicated people who don't need a hard sell on anything. BUY WAR BONDS, says the poster. "Sounds good," says the owner. Maybe an old relative who got all their talking out in their youth and now just watches TV.
Where to hang it? Could look nice in the living room, but you must never discuss it with anyone under any circumstance, lest you accidentally sell some WAR BONDS.
World War II Propaganda (British and American Ambulance Corps.). 1942.
In WWII there were only four types of women. There were the homefront ladies, like the ones that kept house and worked in the factories. There were the enlisted women who traveled and worked with the Armed Services. There was the Vamp, Type A, which was the sexy woman who would give men venereal disease. And there was this one, Vamp, Type B, which was the sexy woman who wouldn't necessarily give you venereal disease (she had the ability to), but could be a spy for the enemy. Of these four, the Navy had organized propaganda campaigns against the latter two. It is kind of fascinating how even little details about where you were from or where you were headed or even how long you'd be in town could be deciphered by spies to outline troop movements or supply shortages. And all you had to do, Joe? Was to ask her to dance. She was that good at making you talk. Or walk funny.
Current price: $84
Who's this for? Fans of spy novels, vintage romance art, or anonymous sex.
Where to hang it? Literally anywhere. Conversation piece anywhere it goes. This would look amazing in a den, home bar, gym, or any place in your home where you take people for anonymous sex.
World War II Propaganda, Italian, "Pax Brittanica". Ca. 1940s.
The Heritage Auction lot doesn't include many posters from outside the Allied powers, but this Italian example stands out both as an outlier and also a fucking insane piece of propaganda. When I logged into this auction I was not prepared for "tentacled leprechaun with enormous hernia" to appear on my screen, but now we've all seen it and can laugh about it to some extent, because I'm not sure it's not real and out to get me in the dark corners of my basement. Marvel needs to get on this little-people-meets-Lovecraft concept ASAP. Racist depictions are rife during the World War propaganda periods and I've chosen not to include them here because they're not cool, but this one was like, damn, that's what you think British people look like? Leprechauns? Imagine an Italian soldier walking up to a British POW and holding this up and saying, "This. This is you."
Current price: $59
Who's this for? Fans of that anime where the different countries of WWII are represented as human people. This could be like the big end-of-season bad guy.
Where to hang it? Don't hang this in a place where you know British people will see it, unless you can guarantee they have a good sense of humor. Historically the British have been known for good comedy, but you have to be careful.
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office). 1942.
Either it's a story of a wife taking money out of her husband's pants because she doesn't have economic freedom (not funny), or this man is being robbed by a prostitute (kinda funny).
Current price: $30
Who's this for? That guy in your dad's friend group who subscribes to Reader's Digest and chuckles at cartoons in the church bulletin.
Where to hang it? A very dull rec room that has a pool table but no alcohol and bad overhead lighting. Would match with a popcorn ceiling in an awful way.
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office). 1943.
Listen to me. This needs to be a meme ASAP. I'm already dropping this image into Slack conversations at work that go on too long and have no point. This is the perfect poster. Who's this guy? Doesn't matter. You run your mouth a little too much and he's dead. Now, if you just don't like the cut of this guy's jib, go ahead and talk, but you've been warned about the consequences. It's a simple cause and effect. If you talk, his chances of dying there in the Disneyland Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage go up. You wanna take that chance? Open your mouth and feel America's disappointment in you.
Current price: $49
Who's this for? It can only be bought by someone for meme purposes. "This man may die…if you spoil Drag Race."
Where to hang it? All over the damn internet, baby.
World War II Propaganda (U.S. Government Printing Office). 1943.
I think this poster sums up our little gift guide here. Keep your shirt on, soldier, otherwise women will suck you dry for information. Keep your shirt on, soldier, to keep the war effort strong. Keep your shirt on, soldier, but we're going to show you shirtless because for some reason our all-male test audience really seems to respond well to posters of shirtless men. It's that cautionary beefcake that WWII just loved to crank out, probably while the viewers were likewise cranking one out. How could it not be sexual!? The words "AFTER DARK" are highlighted! That bug's giving him the succ! They refer to that dude as "meat"! But also, "Meat for the Malaria Mosquito" is one hell of a good name for a metal album.
Current price: $30
Who's this for? Fans of giant insects, like in the movie The Deadly Mantis.
Where to hang it? Oddly enough, this one could probably go into school nurses' offices. While the subliminal message is one thing, the liminal message of avoiding malaria still rings true. Kids could probably get a laugh out of the big bug, while school staff can gaze on a hunky dude for a bit.
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