Aug 04, 2022 - Sale 2612

Sale 2612 - Lot 31

Price Realized: $ 469
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 700 - $ 1,000

JAMES MONTGOMERY FLAGG (1870-1960)

TELL THAT TO THE MARINES! 1918.


40 1/4x30 inches, 102 1/4x76 1/4 cm.
Condition A-: minor repaired tears at edges; slight creases and foxing in image.

The expression, "Tell that to the Marines," had originally been an insult, implying that the Marines would believe anything, but Flagg's poster turned that around and made it into a veritable battle cry. The image of a man reading a chilling headline and instantly preparing to face off against an opponent, is a visceral allegory of an angry America springing to action to preserve what is right in the world. Flagg p. 82, Rawls p. 166, Theofiles 72, Borkan p. 35.