Smithsonian exhibit features magazines with patriotic motifs

WASHINGTON – Seven months after the United States entered into WWII, magazine publishers around the nation collaborated with the U.S. Treasury Department and set in motion an advertising campaign which became one of the most popular anthems of the American people during the war.

Sixty years later, an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History is featuring nearly 100 prominent magazines from that period with the American flag displayed on their covers.

Marilyn Zoidis, a Bangor native and former executive director of the Bangor Historical Society, is one of the curators of the “July 1942: United We Stand” exhibit.

After being contacted and sent examples by Peter Kreitler, a Californian collector who owns 300 of the magazines from July 1942, Zoidis obtained funding and support for the exhibit from the board of directors at the museum.

This July 1942 exhibit is part of what Zoidis described as the longer mission of the museum to tell the history of the American flag.

The museum also is currently involved in a massive preservation project of the Star-Spangled Banner, which Zoidis is involved with as well.

The July 1942 exhibit is an important piece of history and the relatively unknown publishing campaign of 1942 is a story that Americans should hear, Zoidis said during a recent interview at the museum.

The campaign originated after the Dec. 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor, an unprecedented event that shocked the American people. The United States was catapulted into World War II and thousands of men and women were drafted or volunteered to serve their country as soldiers and nurses.

At home, blood drives were organized, rationing programs were instituted, and millions of women entered the workforce to supplement the worker shortage and aid in the war effort. Rosie the Riveter appeared on posters with her work sleeves pulled up and arm flexed with the words “We Can Do It” proudly disclaimed.

The attitude helped a shocked nation gain a sense of purpose and a goal to work toward.

Paul MacNamara, a former publicist with the Hearst Corp., presented the idea for the flag cover campaign early in 1942 to the board of the National Publishers Association.

The campaign was further endorsed by the U.S. Treasury Department, which organized special displays in over 1,200 retail stores to promote the sale of war bonds, and by the United States Flag Association, which awarded medals to eight magazines for outstanding cover designs.

Each cover was unique and reflected the interests of the magazine’s readership, with cooking, gardening, farming, movie or boating themes appearing on the covers with flags in the photos.

“This campaign by the National Publishers Association was an effort to keep the industry in the forefront, and to show its importance as an industry to the American people,” Zoidis said.

Despite the success of the initial campaign, the National Publishers Association decided participation should be voluntary, although many magazines kept flags on the front of their covers throughout the war.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the magazine cover campaign and Zoidis and other museum officials are pleased with the enthusiastic interest shown.

“The turnout has been excellent,” she said.

The exhibit has been featured on the evening news with Peter Jennings, CBS Sunday Morning News, on CNN in the Naval History Magazine and many others.

As part of an interactive effort supported by the museum visitors can go online to the Smithsonian Web site at: www.americanhistory.si.edu to vote for their favorite magazine cover.

The exhibit will be on display through Oct. 27.