1918 Original Hand-drawn Walt Mcdougall World War I Cartoon Fort Meade Recruits
Offering an ORIGINAL HAND-DRAWN EDITORIAL CARTOON by WALTER H. MCDOUGALL, one of the PREMIER AMERICAN CARTOONISTS OF THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES. This cartoon is DATED ON BACK from 14 FEBRUARY 1918, and the label on the reverse reads: THE DISILLUSIONING OF THE NEW RECRUITS. " It looks like a previous owner printed " BY WALT MCDOUGALL on the back, but MCDOUGALL'S SIGNATURE IS PROMINENT IN THE LOWER RIGHT OF THE CARTOON.
Also written on back is " 3 COL; 2-14-18 " and in faded black ink is stamped: " PRESS " - SEE PHOTOS. It features new recruits at FORT MEADE, MARYLAND, during WORLD WAR I. The "joke" is that the new recruits bring things like: A PET PARROT, A CHAFING DISH, "NEVERUDE" ENGINE, GOLF CLUBS, SET OF TOOLS, PICKLES, UMBRELLA, A BANJO, 5 LBS. OF SUNBURN BISCUITS, AND A BASKET OF FRUIT LABELED A. Produced using ink, this artwork captures the theme of the military at Fort Meade, Maryland, in 1918 and is a unique piece of historical significance from the early 20th century.The paper measures 17" X 13" and has been professionally mounted to archival mat (20" X 15") with archival tape. It can be removed by the new owner. It also has a backing mat with openings to show the markings on the reverse of the cartoon - see photos. In spite of the damage to this 107 year old cartoon, it's in very frameable and displayable condition and would make a great addition to your collection, or a fine gift to the Fort Meade veteran or historian in your life!
WALTER HUGH MCDOUGALL (1858 - 1938) was an American cartoonist who produced some of the earliest full color newspaper comic strips, and was one of the first producers of regular political cartoons in American daily papers. His satirical cartoons, published in outlets such as the NEW YORK WORLD and PHILADELPHIA'S THE NORTH AMERICAN, were influential in the 1884 U. Presidential election, and soon after political cartoons became a fixture in American papers. He also drew children's comic strips, and illustrated books including Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz written by L. He drew a series of CARTOONS illustrating NEW RECRUITS at FORT MEADE, MARYLAND.This particular cartoon is marked PRESS on the back, but I can't seem to find which newspaper these were drawn for. MILITARY CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS : This cartoon bears the stamp on reverse of military censors. The STAMP plus HANDWRITTEN TEXT reads: CAMP MEADE, MD; FEB 14TH 1918; BY COMMAND OF MAJ. KUHN; SHERMAN ROBERTS, 1ST LIEUT. When military intelligence became a full-fledged member of the War Department's General Staff, it took on a number of responsibilities that are not considered applicable to the intelligence mission today.
One of those, wartime press censorship, was considered a variant of counterintelligence, or negative intelligence as it was referred to in 1918. The objective of wartime censorship was to prevent the exposure of sensitive military information to the enemy.
Similar censorship had been practiced by the U. Army in the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. During World War I, however, the press censorship system was formalized and extended, according to the Army's official history, to include anything that might "injure morale in our forces here, or at home, or among our Allies, " or embarrass the United States or her Allies in neutral countries.He then led the division during its combat in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, including the capture of Montfaucon. For his World War I service, Kuhn was a recipient of the ARMY DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL, and the FRENCH CROIX DE GUERRE and LEGION OF HONOR (Officer).
CONDITION : Fair amount of edge wear: multiple tears, top left corner dog-ear missing, and numerous flea bites; a few of the tears were closed with archival tape by a professional framer; a fir amount of foxing and staining, but drawing and figures are strong - see photos.