DISPLACED in America! FOREST FIRE DISASTERS can be prevented...

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950. Folio (18½" X 13"). Very good. Original single horizontal and single vertical mailing folds. This bright and attractive poster issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service bears "DISPLACED in America!" at top in large dramatic white lettering against a dark foreboding sky and "FOREST FIRE DISASTERS can be prevented...." at bottom in black letters against white backdrop. Large central image depicts a fire-ravaged wooded landscape in background with a burnt-out farmstead in the middle ground and in the foreground a mother and child viewing the decimation while a weathered old man holding a sack of possessions over his shoulder gazes from left at the viewer. Best of all, this superb example has been signed in pencil at lower left on verso by its artist, ELMO WHITE, a prolific American artist who designed everything from postage stamps to World War Two patriotic posters such as "Know Your Merchant Fleet" and "Invent for Victory." Bold unfaded colors and sharp edges free of edge tears -- an all-around lovely copy. From the collection of Jean Pablo, U.S. Forest Service historian who worked closely with U.S. Forest Service "Smokey Bear" artist Rudolph Wendelin.