The Hun -- his Mark. Blot It Out with Liberty Bonds, 1917

This poster depicts a bloody German handprint with the note that supporting the war effort through buying liberty bonds will help ensure victory over the Germans. Underneath the hand is the inscription “The Hun- his Mark”. This statement is one of the earliest written mentions of the Germans as Huns. The poster was commissioned in 1917 by the United States Treasury from James Allen St. John. St. John was a famous American illustrator and was known especially for his illustrations for novels. The poster was created and reproduced as a lithograph at the time of it’s distribution.