Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Récupérez les OS [Salvage the bones], 1941 Canada poster: A photograph of a gunner at a machine gun in an aircraft sits under

Récupérez les OS [Salvage the bones] (French-language version)

A photograph of a gunner at a machine gun in an aircraft sits under an orange splash headed 'Récupérez les OS', with arrows reading 'glycerine for explosives' and 'glue for aircraft'. The airman's photograph attaches the prestige of the fighting man to household bone scraps, and the arrows state the claimed wartime use.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1941
Period
Second World War
Made by
Service de l'information pour l'Office national de récupération (National Salvage Office), Ottawa, under J. T. Thorson, Minister of National War Services
Region
North America
Country
Canada
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Mackenzie King Government
Leader
William Lyon Mackenzie King
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
Home front, War and the military
Event
World War II
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (Canadian Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired; no URAA restoration)
Service de l'information, National Salvage Office, Department of National War Services (Canada), 1941-1942. U.S. National Archives, Record Group 44.

Text on the object

Original (French) · read from the image, not independently checked

Récupérez
les OS
on les transforme en..
GLYCERINE POUR EXPLOSIFS
COLLE POUR AVIONS
CONSULTEZ VOTRE COMITÉ LOCAL
[blank box beside a telephone icon]
PUBLIÉ PAR LE SERVICE DE L'INFORMATION POUR L'OFFICE NATIONAL DE RÉCUPÉRATION, AVEC L'AUTORISATION DE L'HON. J. T. THORSON, MINISTRE DES SERVICES NATIONAUX DE GUERRE. Imprimé au Canada. FB-2F

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

Salvage
the BONES
they are turned into..
GLYCERINE FOR EXPLOSIVES
GLUE FOR AIRCRAFT
CONSULT YOUR LOCAL COMMITTEE
[blank box beside a telephone icon]
PUBLISHED BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE FOR THE NATIONAL SALVAGE OFFICE, WITH THE AUTHORIZATION OF THE HON. J. T. THORSON, MINISTER OF NATIONAL WAR SERVICES. Printed in Canada. FB-2F

More propaganda examples that use the same techniques

Fragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouchesNew Kingdom EgyptFragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouches0000 · Card stacking, TransferClay cylinder with the Ehulhul inscription of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, describing work on three templesNeo Babylonian EmpireClay cylinder with the Ehulhul inscription of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, describing work on three temples0000 · TransferSeated limestone statue of Hatshepsut as king, with feminine royal titles on the throne, reassembled from fragments broken up at Deir el-BahriNew Kingdom EgyptSeated limestone statue of Hatshepsut as king, with feminine royal titles on the throne, reassembled from fragments broken up at Deir el-Bahri0000 · Transfer, TestimonialGlazed-brick panel with a striding lion, from Babylon (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)Neo Babylonian EmpireGlazed-brick panel with a striding lion, from Babylon (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)0000 · TransferLimestone relief block of Ramesses II wearing the White Crown, a jubilee relief from his temple at HerakleopolisNew Kingdom EgyptLimestone relief block of Ramesses II wearing the White Crown, a jubilee relief from his temple at Herakleopolis0000 · TransferLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of EgyptNew Kingdom EgyptLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of Egypt0000 · Card stacking, TransferContent noteGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal IINeo Assyrian EmpireGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal II0000 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesEgyptian alabaster jar inscribed with the name of Xerxes the Great in four languages (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Egyptian), 486 to 466 BCEAchaemenid EmpireEgyptian alabaster jar inscribed with the name of Xerxes the Great in four languages (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Egyptian), 486 to 466 BCE0000 · Transfer