American War Posters

This poster features six individual cartoon panels illustrating the identification of various poisonous gases, including lewisite, mustard, tear, phosgene and clorpicrin. The text is printed in red and black. The cartoons are gray and black line drawings with selective fill of pink and red

American War Posters

On the left side of poster is a large, orange, image of a combat soldier carrying a rifle. In much smaller scale in the foreground is a gray image of the back of a WAAC, waving at the soldier. In the center of the poster is text describing the contributions of women in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. On the right side and bottom center are black & white photographs showing WAAC's performing various tasks. In the lower right corner is an unsigned cartoon showing a line of combat soldiers fording a river with their rifles held over their heads. The last soldier in line is a WAAC carrying her typewriter over her head

American War Posters

A flyer for a musical revue given by and/or for soldiers at the T.S.C.W. (Texas State College for Women, Denton, Texas?) in 1943. There are no images, only text in various blue and red tones

"Hi, Yank!" A soldier shows "blueprint special."

Musical scores, sample program, costume and setting designs of the World War II [1944?] Army program "Hi, Yank!" A soldier shows "blueprint special." Music and lyrics by Pvt. Frank Loesser, Lt. Alex North, Lt. Jack Hill and Sgt. Jesse Berkman; sketches by Pvt. Arnold Auerbach, Lt. Bob Eastright, Lt. Jack Hill [and others]-- Costume and scenery designs by Lt. Robert T. Stevenson and Sgt. Al Hamilton, drawn by T/4 Edward E. Wolf. Dances by Pvt. Jose Limon. Cover and other drawings by Sgt. George Baker. Section I. Questionnaire ; SOP for soldier shows ; Sample program ; Script with lyrics and stage directions -- Section II. Costume designs with construciton directions -- Section III. Scenic designs with construction directions ; Stage lighting instructions -- Section IV. Conductor's score -- Section V. Vocal lead -- Section VI. Piano -- Section VII. 1st alto saxophone -- Section VIII. 2nd alto saxophone -- Section IX. 1st tenor saxophone -- Section X. 2nd tenor saxophone -- Section XI. 1st trumpet -- Section XII 2nd trumpet -- Section XIII. 3rd trumpet -- Section XIV. 1st trombone -- Section XV. 2nd trombone -- Section. XVI. Guitar -- Section XVII. Bass -- Section XVIII. Drums

About Face!

Libretto and production hints (56 p.) followed by violin-conductor score, piano-conductor score and parts, paged continuously. At head of title: Soldier shows "Blueprint special." Reproduced from type-written and manuscript copy

American War Posters

Twenty different types of airplanes fly across the scene, each with distinct markings. The main background is of clouds in the sky. The border is comprised of insignia of aircraft from 47 countries

Soldier Shows Folio

This soldier show contains two copyrighted works—"The Hasty Heart," a three-act by John Patrick; and "Freedom of the Air," a ten-minute sketch by George S. Kaufman—plus several blackouts and sketches and three simple musical production numbers "restricted to Army and Navy use exclusively." Production numbers each include a libretto and a piano-vocal score. A survey form is included to measure the success and appropriateness of the materials provided

PFC Mary Brown: A WAC Musical

The WAC musical revue "P.F.C. Mary Brown" was inspired by two sources: Frank Loesser's breakout hit song from the revue "About Face!," and the insignia of the Women's Army Corps, which features an image of the goddess Pallas Athene. Displaying more of a plot than the other soldier shows, this revue depicts the goddess growing bored with her life on Olympus and descending to Earth to find fulfillment as a WAC named Mary Brown. Although it is never referred to as a "soldier show" or as a "Blueprint Special," it was conceived in an identical format—a musical revue developed under the aegis of the Army Service Forces Special Services Division, tried out before an audience of military personnel and invited guests, and published in a compilation containing the script, lyrics, stage directions, complete orchestrations, dance routines, scenic and costume designs (including instructions on how to make them from waste and salvage materials), a sample program template, and general notes on how to produce the show. The only major difference between this show and the "Blueprint Specials" is that "P.F.C. Mary Brown" is written specifically for performance by members of the Women's Army Corps rather than by the male troops. A list of all the "Blueprint Specials" that were either published or in production when this show was released appears on the back cover

Soldier Shows "Blueprint Special"

"Hi Yank!" was the second of the Soldier Shows "Blueprint Specials" to be published. It was inspired by "Yank: The Army Weekly"—a magazine published by the U.S. military and distributed to members of the armed forces during World War II. Each episode of this revue is titled after a section of the magazine, and most of the scenes feature cartoonist George Baker's Sad Sack character, who debuted in the first issue of "Yank." Even the cover of the revue, which features both Sad Sack and his eternal nemesis the Sarge, is a parody of the cover of "Yank" magazine. Unlike the first "Blueprint Special" ("About Face!"), which had input from civilians, "Hi, Yank!" was a true soldier show—conceived, written, composed, acted, and produced entirely by currently enlisted Army service members, although most of the show's creators and performers had previous professional experience in show business

Soldier Shows "Blueprint Special"

"About Face!" was the first in a series of Soldier Shows "Blueprint Specials" created by the Special Services Division of the Army Service Forces during World War II to provide soldiers stationed overseas with all the resources they need to stage an original, full-length, Broadway-style revue for their fellow soldiers. Each "Blueprint Special" includes a libretto, set and costume designs, conductor's score, and individual vocal and instrumental parts, as well as detailed instructions for staging the show effectively. Costumes and sets can be constructed from local scrap materials, the sketches that compose the libretto can be omitted or added to according to local needs and time constraints, and the big band style musical accompaniment can be reduced or expanded to accommodate whatever players are available. Each show features one scene where any number of specialty acts can be inserted to showcase local talent