Take Up the Sword of Justice. Join Now
A hand grips a sheathed sword, drawn across a narrow horizontal strip, under 'Take up the sword of justice' and 'Join now'. The sword is the old emblem of justice, so its authority is lent to enlistment, and the abstract word 'justice' takes the place of any stated aim.
- Date
- 1915
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- Parliamentary Recruiting Committee (United Kingdom), poster no. 123; printed by David Allen & Sons, Harrow
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Mixed
- Regime
- Asquith Government
- Leader
- Herbert Henry Asquith
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Recruit
- Theme
- War and the military
- Event
- World War I
- Techniques
- TransferGlittering generalities
- Regime
- Asquith government
- Leader
- H. H. Asquith
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Library of Congress, retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain in the U.S. (published 1915, before 1931)
1915. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, World War I Posters collection. LOC rights advisory: 'No known restrictions on publication.'
Text on the object
TAKE UP THE SWORD OF JUSTICE JOIN NOW [illegible - small printer's imprint at foot, right]
The Library of Congress catalogue gives the printer as David Allen & Sons Ltd., Harrow, Middlesex; the imprint line is too small to read in the committed scan.
