German War-Loan Poster: Stützt unsre Feldgrauen — Scholarly Analysis
Extended scholarly study of "German War-Loan Poster: Stützt unsre Feldgrauen" (accession JCA.2026.118): material analysis, authentication methodology, comparative works, and bibliography.
Extended description
JCA.2026.118 is Otto Lehmann's 1917 German war-loan poster Stützt unsre Feldgrauen – Zereisst Englands Macht – Zeichnet Kriegsanleihe. A German soldier in field-grey uniform is raised above industrial and agricultural workers while tearing a British Union Flag. The text urges civilians to support the troops, break Britain's power, and subscribe to the war loan. The sheet measures approximately 96.6 × 69.1 cm and retains Lehmann's attribution, the Cologne printer line for Wilhelm Eisfeller, and the red framing border.
Technical analysis
The object is a color lithograph on paper. It survives as a complete large-format sheet with pronounced horizontal and vertical storage folds, moderate toning, crease wear, and localized abrasion and surface disruption at fold intersections. The recorded dimensions closely agree with institutional examples of the same design. The lithographic appearance, typography, red border, artist attribution, and printer line are all internally coherent with a 1917 printing.
Authentication methodology
Period attribution is supported by the exact text, 1917 campaign context, Otto Lehmann attribution, Wilhelm Eisfeller Cologne printer line, large sheet dimensions, lithographic appearance, fold configuration, and age-consistent paper condition. A Württembergische Landesbibliothek / LEO-BW catalogue record documents the same design as a 1917 poster by Otto Lehmann, printed by Wilh. Eisfeller in Cologne, at approximately 97.5 × 68.5 cm. That close dimensional and bibliographic agreement provides a strong institutional comparator.
Comparative works
The Württembergische Landesbibliothek's Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte preserves the same poster design under signature 2.5/14, catalogued as 1917, designed by Otto Lehmann and printed/published by Wilh. Eisfeller in Cologne, with recorded dimensions of 97.5 × 68.5 cm. This institutional example is a close direct comparator for JCA.2026.118 and confirms the Seventh War Loan context, typography, imagery, artist, printer, and format.
Provenance
The poster was acquired by the Joshua Cabinet of Antiquities; prior ownership history is undocumented. No wartime subscriber, financial institution, public display location, or earlier collection is presently associated with this particular sheet. The artist and printer inscriptions provide production history rather than ownership provenance.
Historical context
The poster was produced for the German Empire's Seventh War Loan in 1917, when visual propaganda was increasingly used to connect civilian finance with military endurance. Lehmann's composition presents a collective national body: workers and agricultural figures physically elevate the soldier, while the soldier destroys the British flag. The message makes investment in government debt appear equivalent to direct participation in the war effort and constructs Britain as the principal external enemy.
Conservation history
The poster is vulnerable at fold intersections and should be handled fully supported. Display should use UV-filtering glazing, archival backing, and low light levels. Old folds should not be pressed flat or humidified outside professional paper conservation. Future reframing should expose and photograph the entire sheet, including margins and verso, while recording any printer marks, inscriptions, tears, repairs, or watermarks. Adhesive tape, lamination, dry mounting, and aggressive surface cleaning should be avoided.
Bibliography
Württembergische Landesbibliothek / LEO-BW, Plakat-Datenbank der Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, “Stützt unsre Feldgrauen. Zereisst Englands Macht – Zeichnet Kriegsanleihe,” 1917, Otto Lehmann, Wilh. Eisfeller, Cologne, signature 2.5/14. Scholarship on German First World War war-loan propaganda and the Seventh Kriegsanleihe campaign.