Travel? Adventure? Join the Marines

James Montgomery Flagg (1877 – 1960) was an American artist and illustrator. He is most famous for his war effort posters but he also work for magazines, did cartoons, and even paintings. Flagg's recruiting poster Travel? Adventure? Join the Marines of 1917, is a humorous image that defines jaunty. The poster shows a young Marine enlisted man holding his .03 Springfield rifle at port arms which riding backwards on a bucking leopard. The acrobatic smiling Marine is shown wrapping his feet around the belly of the best while somehow remaining posture perfect. The poster boy Marine wears a uniform well suited for the tropics; a campaign hat with the globe and anchor, ca anvas cartridge belt around his slim waist and leggings of the same material secured by a strap looped just in front of the boot heel. Just behind this surreal scene, which would be the envy of any rodeo rider, palm fronds are pictured swaying on a warm tropical breeze. Affairs were'nt so idyllic in the Caribbean Basin the year this poster was printed. A series of revolutions has rocked the Caribean and Central America for decades, that the Marines were often called on to quell. At the time the Marines only had a complement of 15,000 or less, but these dedicated professionals often reenlisted, providiin a capable cadre of officers and men. This small number assued that only a comparatively smalll numer of these recruiting posters assured that only a comparatively small number of these required to maintain this elite volunteer force, making these particular posters rare and collectible by anyone with a serious interest in the Corp's illustrious history. demonstrates the Marine's complete mastery of a virtually impossible and dangerous situation. There is a border around the image. The image size is correct. Many sizes available.