Pour la france versez votre or

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• Pour la France – VERSEZ VOTRE OR L’or Combat Pour La Victoire

Eng – « For France – Deposit your gold. Gold fights for victory. »

• French

  WWI poster

• Year: 1915
• Artist:

  Jules Abel​ Faivre

The story of this poster

This poster has a clear imagery – deposit your gold and strengthen the defense!

Here you see a German soldier with the classic pickel hood or « pickelhaube » suddenly being attacked by a large gold coin with le coq gaulois i.e. « the Gallic rooster », which early on became an unofficial symbol for France. The rooster’s name is commonly known as Chantecler, and dates back as far as the Gauls of the 500s. The rooster was stamped on the reverse side of French 20-franc gold coins during the years 1899 to 1915. The rooster is still a popular mascot at sporting events and is found on many French monuments of the First World War.

This way of financing the armed forces through the public essentially functioned in the same manner as the more common war bonds where, at the eventual successful end of the war, their invested funds were paid back plus an attractive interest rate.

Probably very few during these times had an abundance of money, but the reasoning here was that many could instead pledge rings and jewelry that one could, for sentimental reasons, otherwise be unwilling to sell.

Always at World War Era

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Pour la France, versez votre or. L’or combat pour la Victoire

Ce dessin est composé d’une pièce de monnaie et d’un personnage se détachant sur un fond blanc : un soldat allemand (casque à pointe), le fusil en main, baïonnette au canon. Il est à genoux, déséquilibré et assailli par un coq, lancé à l’attaque, son bec visant les yeux exorbités de terreur du soldat. Le coq est sur une pièce de monnaie française, agressif, en position d’attaque. Le coq et la devise Liberté, égalité, fraternité identifient la pièce d’or comme française. Deux slogans figurent sur cette affiche : Pour la France versez votre or – L’or combat pour la victoire.

C’est un double appel au civisme et au patriotisme. Appel lancé aux civils non combattants afin d’établir une répartition des sacrifices.
Cette propagande invite à la solidarité, et utilise des symboles.

Affiche nationale
(Fonds iconographique de la Première Guerre)
20Fi91

There are many treasures in the collection of Crédit Commercial de France (now HSBC Continental Europe) held in Paris. Our First World War posters are particularly popular with visitors. Banks played a critical role in raising funds to help the war effort, and to rebuild the country in the aftermath. They issued government bonds at a low fixed-interest rate, which were redeemable after a given period. Eye-catching posters were designed, often by well-known artists, to encourage the public to subscribe. Patriotic and direct, these posters were an important propaganda tool at a time of national crisis. Take this opportunity to explore a selection of the artwork in our care.