This original poster was designed by Cinq around 1940 to recruit volunteers for France’s Service Civique Rural, or Rural Civic Service. Its headline asks, “The harvest will be plentiful… but who will gather it?”, followed by the appeal: “So that France may eat this winter, volunteer for the Rural Civic Service.”
A large loaf of bread floats prominently before several ears of wheat, immediately connecting agricultural labour with the nation’s food supply. The simple imagery turns an everyday staple into a symbol of collective responsibility at a time of wartime shortages and uncertainty.
The restrained palette of brown, golden yellow and dark blue gives the design a sober yet approachable character. Cinq combines delicate linear drawing with bold condensed lettering, allowing the central message to remain legible and forceful from a distance.
Issued by the State Secretariat for Labour and the Commissariat for the Fight Against Unemployment, the poster reflects the state-directed labour mobilisation of early Vichy-era France. Volunteers were encouraged to assist with agricultural work as the countryside faced severe shortages of available labour.
Both a striking example of French graphic design and a revealing historical document, this original poster illustrates how visual communication was used to address food production and employment during the Second World War. It will appeal to collectors of wartime propaganda, agricultural imagery and twentieth-century social history.
Original poster
Policy - Agriculture - War 39-45
Commistariat for the fight against unemployment
Oraff Paris
Very good state
* The shadow on the left is due to the picture, it doesn't appear on the poster.
Sign up & benefit from discounts or exclusive offers.