First to fight, U.S. Marine Corps: Join now

United States First World War recruitment poster issued by the U. S. Marine Corp. It features a central image of a group of U.S Marines running into action from landing craft on a beach. The title and text frames the image top and bottom printed in black and urges the viewer to join the U.S Marines as they represent 'the Vanguard of Democracy'.At the bottom of the poster is a blank area for the address of the nearest Naval recruitment centre to be overprinted. Overall the poster appeals directly to the viewers sense of patriotism and the need to defend democracy. The Naval recruitment campaign while managed independently from the Division of Pictorial Publicity by the Navy Recruiting Bureau also utilised the talents of the best American illustrators and artists of the day. The poster campaign was so successful that soon after the War the then Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels said ' Striking posters which aroused patriotism and pictured the opportunity for Service in the War for Democracy and the Freedom of the Seas proved one of the most effective features of our notably successful campaign...'. Sidney Harry Riesenberg (1885 – 1971) was a landscape painter and illustrator from Chicago best known for his posters for the United States Marine Corps and the Liberty bond programs. In the early 1930s, he began illustration work for magazines and his work was often featured at venues such as the National Academy of Design and in organizations such as the Allied Artists of America. Of Riesenberg's work, his contributions during World War I are most noted and he is described as "one of the greatest illustrators of the World War I era".