Franz Oswald Schiffers, Original Vintage Color World War II Propaganda Poster Delayed! Offset Lithograph, 1946

DELAYED VD; 1946 military poster by Franz Oswald Schiffers.
Delayed! VD, the 1946 U.S. World War II (WWII) health poster warning soldiers overseas of the consequences of venereal disease. He can see the bright lights big city in the distance but he is chained to the VD block…
VD Almost! is a vintage 1946 public service announcement poster by Franz O. Schiffers (1902-1976). Schiffers was commissioned to create several posters warning against venereal disease for the U.S servicemen stationed overseas. The artwork is bold, clear and direct. In the post-World War II era, the piece sent a serious message to prevent contracting disease through relations with foreigners. In today’s day and age, these pieces are quite humorous and decorative. Virile soldiers are shown to be up against the looming threat of venereal disease. The soldier standing on the pier watching his ship sail away would have to make a very embarrassing explanation to his wife or girlfriend as to why he was left behind.

Franz Oswald Schiffers (born August 5, 1902 in Eilendorf in Aachen , February 12, 1976 in Berlin ) was a graphic artist and film poster artist . He was one of the first graphic artists of the 1930s to achieve photorealistic effects in their works. At his father’s request, Schiffers initially trained as a teacher before moving to Berlin in 1925 and became a graphic designer at UFA (Universum Film AG). After designing a series of movie posters there, Schiffers became independent in 1932 as a commercial artist (now a graphic designer). In the 1930s, Schiffers specialized in advertising posters for beverage producers – especially beer advertising. The trademark of his beer posters is the meticulous design of beer glass with shiny drops of water that trickle down the misted glass. In this photorealistic context one also speaks of ” veristic ” graphics.
After the seizure of power by the National SocialistsNazis , Schiffers temporarily worked for the Reich Propaganda Ministry. He designed u. a. the so-called “shadow man campaign” with the well-known slogan “enemy hears with!” – A German graphic artist who designed movie posters and advertisements in late-1920s and early 1930s Germany. During the Nazi era, Schiffers was commissioned by the Nazi propaganda office to create German propaganda posters warning against the dangers of loose talk. Immediately after the Second World War, when Germany was occupied by the allies, Schiffers worked for the US occupation authority government on this 1946 campaign to discourage fraternization. There is an important collection of such propaganda posters at the Wolfsonian museum in Miami Beach some very important artists were involved in making them amongst them such luminaries as Ben Shahn, Norman Rockwell, Rockwell Kent and Arthur Szyk. Oswald Schiffers is the brother of Paul Egon Schiffers (sculptor), Arno Schiffers (painter) and Anselm Schiffers (composer and church musician).
This is an Original Vintage Poster; it is not a reproduction.