An Urgent Plea to Tenants
Red text-and-picture sheet addressed to apartment tenants. It states a critical shortage of waste paper, calls paper a 'Weapon of War' and lists military items made from it, then shows nine pictured salvage items (bags, boxes, rags, tin cans, fats). The technique is a selected list of uses presented as the reason to act, with the weapon-of-war label as the appeal.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- War Production Board, Salvage Division
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Home front, Economy and finance
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- 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 Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
War Production Board, Salvage Division. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-396 (NAID 513847).
Text on the object
FROM THE SALVAGE DIVISION OF THE WAR PRODUCTION BOARD AN URGENT PLEA TO TENANTS: There is a Critical Shortage of Waste Paper - More Critical than at any time since the War began! Waste Paper is a vital "Weapon of War". Bomb Bands, Shell Containers, Aircraft Signals, Ammunition Chests, Parachute Flares, Overseas Containers and other Military needs are made in part from converted Waste Paper. Don't destroy it! Don't throw it down the incinerator. Save it! URGENTLY NEEDED FOR WAR PRODUCTION: STORE BAGS FLATTENED OUT BOXES WRAPPING PAPER CORRUGATED PAPER NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES WASTE BASKET PAPER FLATTENED TIN CANS RAGS AND DON'T FORGET FATS AND GREASES [imprint:] WAR PRODUCTION BOARD APPROVED BY WAR PRODUCTION BOARD. PAID FOR BY INDUSTRY.
