The painting of Uncle Sam (from before World War I) was done by James Montgomery Flagg in 1917. This is the painting that Flagg made:
Does it look familiar? It should, it was used on recruitment posters for World War I:
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Wondering About Thomas Nast and James Flagg.
How many of you know who Thomas Nast was? Would a picture help? This is what he looked like:
Didn't help? OK, I will tell you. He was a political cartoonist and creator of the modern image of Uncle Sam. He also was the one who came up with the popular image Santa Claus, the Republican Elephant, and the Democratic Donkey.
The painting of Uncle Sam (from before World War I) was done by James Montgomery Flagg in 1917. This is the painting that Flagg made:
There have been a few different explanations on how the United States was nicknamed Uncle Sam, one of which could very well be the right one. It was on this date back in 1813 that the nickname started. A meat packer named Samuel Wilson supplied barrels of beef to the U.S. Army and stamped the lids with "U.S." for "United States" but the soldiers started to refer to it as "Uncle Sam's" and that nickname stuck and to this day the U.S. is depicted as Uncle Sam. It is sometimes strange how things get started. Now, you all have a great day, you hear?
The painting of Uncle Sam (from before World War I) was done by James Montgomery Flagg in 1917. This is the painting that Flagg made:
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I would never have figured the way that Uncle Sam came to be, although I did recognize Nast.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea until I started researching it for the blog. I didn't recognize Nast, that makes you another one up on me.
DeleteLike it,,,
ReplyDeleteGlad you did.
DeleteWhile I didn't recognize the picture, I did know about Nast... however... the Uncle Sam thing... nope... didn't know. Say... did you have a coupon book in the 1940's that you used to save for savings bonds? I can remember having one but for the life of me, don't know how I got the stamps. I'm not talking about butter, sugar and the like... those, my Mom had and used. My little booklet was for War Bonds. Do folks still buy bonds? We bought some for our grandkids when they were born, but figured out that the rate of interest was hardly worth it. Poor Old Uncle Sam... I may rate high in patriotism, but, darn... have to admit that these days he's just too poor to give much back.
ReplyDeleteI still have some of my parent's ration books. I know they had savings bonds, too. But I don't think there are any left, they must have cashed them in. But boy do I remember the S&H Green Stamps and those books you pasted them in. When did they discontinue them?
DeleteIt is such a chore to buy a savings bond now that most folks would be crazy to try. I used to have money taken out of my check towards the bonds. My mother-in-law called them "war bonds" until the day she died in the late 1980's.
DeleteI was in a bank a few weeks back, not much interest there either.
DeleteYep Rob, they want your money to make interest income with but don't want to pay you much interest on your money.
DeleteI guess buying a savings bond could be a chore if you do not want to use the on-line service that is available.
DeleteIn a TreasuryDirect account, you can purchase and hold savings bonds (including I Savings Bonds), and it's available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The account is protected by a password of your choosing and allows you to purchase, and reinvest securities and perform account maintenance from your home or work computer. The Bonds are not issued as paper but are held in the account, this is a big problem for some people but receiving a paper Bond does make buying one a chore. The I Savings Bond has a rate of interest that is inflation protected and they can be bought in any denomination to the penny ie $34.27.
So many of the icons we still see around today were the idea of some very creative artist from long ago.
ReplyDeleteI still really like the Uncle Sam icon. One of the best, in my opinion!
I agree, I think the Uncle Sam is one of the best.
DeleteVery well said Hermit Jim...my sentiments exactly.
DeleteMsB, HermitJim always says things to put stuff in perspective. Thanks for stopping by.
Delete