We will uphold the priceless gem of liberty. Shall we help to crush tyranny? (Canadian recruiting poster)

A young soldier in khaki stands at attention between two large Union Jacks, framed by maple leaves, under a four-line verse about the soldier's 'wealth' being honour. The headline and closing question rest on abstractions ('the priceless gem of liberty', 'tyranny'), which are not tied to any concrete claim (glittering generalities), and the flags and verse lend imperial and poetic prestige to enlisting (transfer).

Date: 1915
Period: First World War
Made by: Canadian recruiting for the Canadian Expeditionary Force (sponsor not named; printed by the Gazette Printing Co. Limited, Montreal)
Region: North America
Country: Canada
Medium: Poster
Issuer type: Mixed
Regime: Borden Government
Leader: Robert Laird Borden
Audience: Domestic public
Purpose: Recruit
Theme: War and the military
Event: World War I
Techniques: Glittering generalities Transfer
Source: Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source: Library of Congress, retrieved September 29, 2026
Rights: Public domain (published 1914-18, before 1931; LOC: no known restrictions on publication)
Gazette Printing Co., Limited, Montreal. [between 1914 and 1918]. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZC4-12561 (call no. POS - CAN .A01, no. 31).

Text on the object

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

WE WILL UPHOLD THE PRICELESS GEM OF LIBERTY
" For Gold the Merchant Ploughs the Main
The Farmer tills the Manor
But Glory is the Soldier's Prize
The Soldier's Wealth is Honour"

SHALL WE HELP TO CRUSH TYRANNY?
APPLY AT RECRUITING STATION

Printed by GAZETTE PRINTING CO. LIMITED, Montreal, Canada

The photographed copy is bordered by Kodak colour and gray-scale calibration strips added for archival photography, not part of the original poster.