Gee!! I Wish I Were a Man, I'd Join The Navy. Be a man and do it. thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case Y, Shelf 76, Box 23

Gee!! I Wish I Were a Man, I'd Join The Navy. Be a man and do it.

Poster
1917 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The USA entered the First World War in 1917 as an ally of the British Empire and France. Recruitment posters carried a variety of messages. This one presents the war as a romantic adventure. Christy produced a series of images for recruitment posters in which young women - 'Christy girls' as they became known - challenged the masculinity of the male viewer.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleGee!! I Wish I Were a Man, I'd Join The Navy. Be a man and do it. (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour half tone letterpress on paper
Brief description
Howard Chandler Christy. Gee!! I wish I were a man, I'd join the Navy. Be a man and do it. 1917
Physical description
Portrait format colour poster. Blue ground; half length figure of a young woman in early 20th century sailor's uniform to left, with caption to right, and beneath 'Be a man and do it. United States Navy Recruiting Station'.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 765mm
  • Sheet width: 511mm
Style
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
  • Howard Chandler Christy (Signature within the design)
  • 1917 (Date; within the image; colour half-tone letterpress)
Credit line
Given by the Underground Electric Railways Co. of London Ltd.
Subjects depicted
Summary
The USA entered the First World War in 1917 as an ally of the British Empire and France. Recruitment posters carried a variety of messages. This one presents the war as a romantic adventure. Christy produced a series of images for recruitment posters in which young women - 'Christy girls' as they became known - challenged the masculinity of the male viewer.
Collection
Accession number
E.118-1918

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Record createdFebruary 19, 2003
Record URL
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