Victory Is Dear - Buy War Bonds
- Title:
- Victory Is Dear - Buy War Bonds
- Alternate Title:
- Victory Is Dear - Buy War Bonds
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Date:
- 1944
- Posted Date:
- 2017-04-14
- ID Number:
- 2269.01
- Collection Number:
- 8548
- File Name:
- PJM_2269_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1940 - 1959
- Subject:
- Pictorial
Advertising & Promotion
World War II
New York City - Measurement:
- 24 x 43 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- Less than a week after D-Day in Europe, the U.S. Army opened a massive exhibition in New York's Central Park, just south of the 86th Street Transverse. The highlight was "a sham battle that had all the grim aspects of actual warfare" and "left little for the imagination." 'Nazi's' Defeated in a Sham Battle, New York Times, June 10, 1944. "While the primary purpose of the display is to acquaint the public with the quality, quantity and costliness of army equipment, it is also tied in with recruiting for the women's services and selling War Bonds. Free rides in army Jeeps for bond buyers proves a strong incentive, and sales are brisk without high-pressure salesmanship." The Billboard, June 24, 1944, p .3. This map shows the location of various displays and events on the 12-acre site (today called the Great Lawn), including the "Combat Area" and the "Flame Thrower Demonstration."
"The army service forces have . . . installed a mammoth educational display that has all the features of a first-class county fair - music, exhibits, talkers, rides, fashion shows, movies, demonstrations, spectacular thrills and even coffee and sinkers . . . . Exhibits cover practically every branch of army service, with captured Nazi and Jap equipment offered for comparison. Besides equipment of all sorts - big guns, tanks, railway coaches and trucks - there are realistic working replicas of battle-area first-aid stations, signal corps apparatus and engineering displays. Well-trained soldier-talkers on high pedestals describe the displays. . . . Spectacular highlights are demonstrations of flame throwers and smoke-cloud producing equipment and a realistic sham battle. The battle . . . is preceded by an interesting 'fashion show' comparing various types of Nazi and Jap uniforms with their counterparts in the U. S. Army. Good-looking girls from the service groups participating in the show add a bit of glamour, especially two real cuties in white off-duty summer togs." Ibid.
The exhibit was part of the Treasury Department's Fifth War Loan Drive and ran in New York from June 11 - 25 before moving to Chicago. It was planned by Russell G Mathews, a civilian consultant to the Army Quartermaster Corps. The Billboard, July 1, 1944, p. 4. Billboard estimated total attendance at about 600,000 people, ibid., but the New York Times reported on June 12 that more than 300,000 people were on hand when the show opened, and that officials said the total number of visitors on the first day alone could reach 1,000,000.
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Cite As:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography, #8548. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
- Archival Collection:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.