Weapons for Liberty – USA Bonds

Leyendecker was one of the pre-eminent American illustrators of the early twentieth century. As the premier cover illustrator for the enormously popular The Saturday Evening Post during that period, his work both reflected and helped mold many of the visual aspects of the era’s culture in America. The image of Santa Claus as a jolly fat man in a red fur-trimmed coat was popularized by Leyendecker, as was the image of the New Year’s Baby. His depiction of a bellhop carrying hyacinths on the May 30, 1914 The Saturday Evening Post cover began the tradition of giving flowers as a gift on Mother’s Day.

This image was used as the cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March 2, 1918 and as a poster for the Boy Scouts of America Third Liberty Loan Campaign, 1918. The scene is an appeal to youth to sell war bonds. It shows two young men, ones dressed in a Boy Scout uniform holding a sword inscribed “Be prepared” which is the Boy Scout motto, and the other dressed in an American flag, wearing a Statue of Liberty-style headpiece and holding a shield with a U.S. government seal (similar to one used on paper currency).