Collection Timeline

1882 to 1979

1882
"The Mississippi of Intemperance," 1882. This poster was created for use during temperance lectures given by N. W. Tracy and was likely also offered for purchase by the audience afterwards. Its central image is a symbolic map showing the moral degeneration caused by alcoholism. The same theme is illustrated by the small dramatic scenes around the map, ending with Scene 12, the gallows, where the drunkard will meet his fate because of acts committed while in an alcoholic rage. Printed by Shober & Carqueville Litho Company of Chicago. Dimensions: 23-1/2" x 29-1/2".

1895
Poster advertising "The Seven Evangelists" holding meetings at Bierod's Beer Garden in Louisville, Kentucky. B. Fay Mills (1857-1916), the round picture in the middle of the poster, was the main speaker.

1900
"Family Temperance Pledge," c. 1900. Illustration of family in center surrounded by 12 reasons for signing the pledge (6 on each side) with Holy Bible and all-seeing eye above. Leaves room for signatures. Created by Steel Engraving Company.

1905
"Our father which art in Heaven." 1905. This poster graphically presents both the Lord's Prayer (as recorded in Matthew 6:9-13) and the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). The poster was probably intended as a wall decoration for the home or Sunday school. Chromolithography print from the James Lee Co., Chicago, IL.

1910
Copy of a handbill announcing the 50-year anniversary (jubilee) of the Woman’s Union Missionary Society (WUMS), 1910. Started in 1860 by women in Boston and New York, WUMS provided a source of support for single women who wished to go overseas as missionaries. The poster appears to be done in "Le style Mucha." Alphonse Mucha was a very highly regard Czech graphic artist who worked in the United States from 1906-1910.
A large hand drawn, hand lettered tract, illustrating two ways of experiencing life. Held up to one side the frowning figure depicts a life without Jesus Christ, weighed down by sin. Turning the tract, the figure now smiles, unburdened by the peace of the Lord. Tract from the collection of Victor Plymire, who lived among the Tibetan people as an Assemblies of God missionary from 1908 through 1945. Much of his time was spent traveling with the trade caravans that crisscrossed the country, presenting the Christian gospel in various ways to the merchants and towns and other communities the caravan encountered. Dimensions: 12" x 25".
Large hand drawn tract with image of a heart that lists the fruits of the Holy Spirit in a Christian's life. Tract from the collection of Victor Plymire, who lived among the Tibetan people as an Assemblies of God missionary from 1908 through 1945. Much of his time was spent traveling with the trade caravans that crisscrossed the country, presenting the Christian gospel in various ways to the merchants and the towns and other communities the caravan encountered. Dimensions: 12" x 25".
Tract depicts the various sins that inhabit the human heart. Tract from the collection of Victor Plymire, who lived among the Tibetan people as an Assemblies of God missionary from 1908 through 1945. Much of his time was spent traveling with the trade caravans that crisscrossed the country, presenting the Christian gospel in various ways to the merchants and the towns and other communities the caravan encountered. Dimensions: 12" x 25".

1911
Poster with the names and photos of the sixteen missionaries of the Africa Inland Mission who were supported by Moody Church of Chicago. Sometime between 1911 and 1925.

1918
Black and white poster with Swedish text and photographs of evangelists
"Help Him Put the Word of God in His Pocket and in His Heart," c. 1918. Poster published for the Business Men's War Council of the Pocket Testament League as part of an effort to raise funds to print Bibles to be given to American servicemen during World War I. Dimensions: 23-1/4" x 29-1/4".

1920
"God Calls the Roll of the World's Workers." Undated. Poster illustrating Christ's appeal to people in different occupations. Dimensions: 18" x 24".

1923
Large poster with black text advertising gospel campaign for Blue Mountain Evangelists with large center black and white photograph of T. T. Martin.

1927
Poster with blue text and red border advertising evangelistic meeting of Gipsy Smith. Includes photograph of Smith with hands outstretched.

1930
"God Calls the Roll of the World's Workers." Undated. Poster illustrating Christ's appeal to people in different occupations. Dimensions: 18" x 24".
Large poster with black text advertising Bosworth Evangelistic campaign with black and white photographs of Mr. and Mrs. F. F. Bosworth, as well as crowd shots from past revivals.
"The Parable of the Sower," undated. The parable told by Jesus is found in Luke 8: 4-15. This story is one of the basic statements of evangelism found in the New Testament. The panels, read from right to left, illustrate verses 12, 13, 14, and 15.
"Two Roads." Undated. The English version of the Chinese text reads: "There are only two roads. I respectfully ask you, Which one are you walking on? Christ died for our sins and was buried. The third day he came to life again. The Lord is certainly coming again. If you want to find life a blessing, trust the Lord Jesus." In the upper left corner, the city is labelled Heavenly City. The road leading up to it is labeled Road to Heaven. In the lower left corner, the fire is labeled Eternal Fires of Hell. The road leading to it is labeled Road to Hell. The Chinese character for sin is inscribed on the packs carried by individuals on the road to hell. The text on the red cross reads: Christ Jesus came to earth to save sinners. The text in the tomb to left of the cross reads: The tomb from which the savior rose. Published by the Christian Book Room, 205 YuenMong Road, P.O. Box 1723, Shanghai.
"The Old Man and the New Man." Undated. The English version of the Chinese text reads: "Create a new man. You must take off the old man and its iniquity. This old man is continually being corrupted by its evil desires  (Eph. 4:22) / Put on the new man. The new man is created in God's image. It has true love and purity, (Eph. 4:24)." The various words on the old man's coat are the name of sins, such as boasting, drunkenness, pride, hatred, foolishness, adultery. Written on the shoe of the man on the right is, "trusting in man's way."Written on the clothes of the man on the left are the fruit of the Holy Spirit as described in Gal. 5:22-23: "love, peace, joy, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance." Dimensions: 21-3/8" x 30".

1931
Black and white poster advertising evangelists meetings for the Covert Sister with large portrait of sisters in dressed in white.

1932
"Not a NEW LEAF to Turn," 1932. This poster illustrated the Sunday School lesson for January 3. Dimensions: 16-1/2" x 19-5/16".
"Put Out the Fire Before the Barn Burns," 1932. This poster illustrated the lesson for April 24. Dimensions: 16-1/2" x 19-3/16".
"The Bow in the Cloud," 1932. With a rainbow arching out of Christ's tomb in the face of a looming skull, this cartoon dramatically illustrates the hope of Christianity in the face of death and despair. A message likely poignant to an audience in the grip of some of the worst years of the Great Depression. This poster illustrated the lesson for March 27. Dimensions: 16-1/2" x 19-3/16".
"Killing six birds with one stone," 1932. This was one of many cartoons by Pace defending fundamentalist views of scripture in the face of the modernist-fundamentalist debates of the 1920s and 1930s. This poster illustrated the lesson for April 3. Dimensions: 16-1/2" x 19-3/16".
"An hireling, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf come..." 1932. This was one of many cartoons by Pace to illustrate the theme that modernism, especially as it related to a liberal interpretation of Scripture, was one of the major ills of American Christianity. This poster illustrated the lesson for February 21. Dimensions: 16-1/2 " x 19-5/16".
"Where the spider spins its web," 1932. This poster illustrated the Sunday School lesson for February 7. Dimensions: 16-1/2" x 19-1/4".
"The Monster Painter's Masterpiece." 1932. This poster illustrated the lesson for April 10. Dimensions: 16-1/2" x 19-3/16".
"Have faith in God." 1932. This poster illustrated the lesson for March 13. The cartoon was relevant to current events, since almost 18,000 of the country's 64,000 banks had failed since 1930. Dimensions: 16-1/25" x 19- 1/4".

1933
"Welcome," ca. 1933. This Chinese gospel poster illustrates the parable of the wedding feast from Matthew 22:1-14. The English translation of the text reads: Please come to the Gospel hall to hear the Word and examine the Scriptures." Dimensions: 30" x 43".

1934
Poster prepared for Woman's Sunday, December 2, 1934, in Disciples of Christ Churches. The poster photos and drawings illustrate the medical, educational, philanthropic, and educational work of the United Christian Missionary Society among the women of India. Printed by the Mission Press in Jubbulpur, India.

1939
Large poster with black text advertising gospel campaign for Blue Mountain Evangelists with large center black and white photograph of T. T. Martin.
Poster advertising series of meetings of evangelist John R. Rice at the Back to the Bible Tabernacle in Kankakee, Illinois. The poster is from the Herbert J. Taylor Papers (1893-1978). Taylor was a successful businessman in Chicago and an active Christian layman who was involved in dozens of evangelistic outreach programs, from radio broadcasts to soup kitchens, with a special emphasis on work with children. Taylor's papers are a reflection of the fervent activity among fundamentalists and evangelicals at time when the groundwork was laid for the national resurgence of evangelism in the second half of the century.

1940
A large hand drawn, hand lettered tract, illustrating two ways of experiencing life. Held up to one side the frowning figure depicts a life without Jesus Christ, weighed down by sin. Turning the tract, the figure now smiles, unburdened by the peace of the Lord. Tract from the collection of Victor Plymire, who lived among the Tibetan people as an Assemblies of God missionary from 1908 through 1945. Much of his time was spent traveling with the trade caravans that crisscrossed the country, presenting the Christian gospel in various ways to the merchants and towns and other communities the caravan encountered. Dimensions: 12" x 25".
Large hand drawn tract with image of a heart that lists the fruits of the Holy Spirit in a Christian's life. Tract from the collection of Victor Plymire, who lived among the Tibetan people as an Assemblies of God missionary from 1908 through 1945. Much of his time was spent traveling with the trade caravans that crisscrossed the country, presenting the Christian gospel in various ways to the merchants and the towns and other communities the caravan encountered. Dimensions: 12" x 25".
Tract depicts the various sins that inhabit the human heart. Tract from the collection of Victor Plymire, who lived among the Tibetan people as an Assemblies of God missionary from 1908 through 1945. Much of his time was spent traveling with the trade caravans that crisscrossed the country, presenting the Christian gospel in various ways to the merchants and the towns and other communities the caravan encountered. Dimensions: 12" x 25".
"Win a Friend for Christ," c. 1940. National Tract Week was an annual event sponsored by the Christian Worker's Foundation of Chicago, Illinois, USA. Its purpose was to encourage Christians to spend a few hours every month handing out evangelistic tracts. Dimensions: 16-11/16" x 21-1/2".
"The Parable of the Sower," undated. The parable told by Jesus is found in Luke 8: 4-15. This story is one of the basic statements of evangelism found in the New Testament. The panels, read from right to left, illustrate verses 12, 13, 14, and 15.
Poster of a scene of a mother praying with her daughter before bed. For several decades in the 20th century, the Christian Home Committee of the National Christian Council of India was devoted to strengthening the Christian ideas of family life among believers of the subcontinent. Beginning in the early 1940s and influenced by a similar program in China, the committee sponsored an annual, week-long Christian Home Festival. Among other activities, the committee distributed simple and colorful handbills and posters that could be hung around the home and church for daily worship and Bible study. None of the handbills are dated but were likely printed between the 1940s to the 1960s.
Poster of the crucixion of Christ . For several decades in the 20th century, the Christian Home Committee of the National Christian Council of India was devoted to strengthening the Christian ideas of family life among believers of the subcontinent. Beginning in the early 1940s and influenced by a similar program in China, the committee sponsored an annual, week-long Christian Home Festival. Among other activities, the committee distributed simple and colorful handbills and posters that could be hung around the home and church for daily worship and Bible study. None of the handbills are dated but were likely printed between the 1940s to the 1960s.
"When sweeping the floor, I pray Thee, Lord, sweep from my heart all evil and make it clean." For several decades in the 20th century, the Christian Home Committee of the National Christian Council of India was devoted to strengthening the Christian ideas of family life among believers of the subcontinent. Beginning in the early 1940s and influenced by a similar program in China, the committee sponsored an annual, week-long Christian Home Festival. Among other activities, the committee distributed simple and colorful handbills and posters that could be hung around the home and church for daily worship and Bible study. None of the handbills are dated but were likely printed between the 1940s to the 1960s.
"When opening the door, I pray Thee Lord, to open the door of my heart, that I may receive Thee, Lord, within." For several decades in the 20th century, the Christian Home Committee of the National Christian Council of India was devoted to strengthening the Christian ideas of family life among believers of the subcontinent. Beginning in the early 1940s and influenced by a similar program in China, the committee sponsored an annual, week-long Christian Home Festival. Among other activities, the committee distributed simple and colorful handbills and posters that could be hung around the home and church for daily worship and Bible study. None of the handbills are dated but were likely printed between the 1940s to the 1960s.
"When drawing water, I pray thee, Lord, to give me Living Water that I may never thirst." For several decades in the 20th century, the Christian Home Committee of the National Christian Council of India was devoted to strengthening the Christian ideas of family life among believers of the subcontinent. Beginning in the early 1940s and influenced by a similar program in China, the committee sponsored an annual, week-long Christian Home Festival. Among other activities, the committee distributed simple and colorful handbills and posters that could be hung around the home and church for daily worship and Bible study. None of the handbills are dated but were likely printed between the 1940s to the 1960s.
"I pray Thee, Lord, to send through me Thy messages of love to lonely hearts." For several decades in the 20th century, the Christian Home Committee of the National Christian Council of India was devoted to strengthening the Christian ideas of family life among believers of the subcontinent. Beginning in the early 1940s and influenced by a similar program in China, the committee sponsored an annual, week-long Christian Home Festival. Among other activities, the committee distributed simple and colorful handbills and posters that could be hung around the home and church for daily worship and Bible study. None of the handbills are dated but were likely printed between the 1940s to the 1960s.

1941
Poster used as part of the Salvation Army's "Darkness to Light" campaign in China in 1941. The characters at the bottom announce the campaign theme, "Darkness to Light." The characters across the top of the poster read "God is light. In Him there is no darkness. Reject darkness, approach light." The poster came to the Archives as part of the papers of Herbert J. Taylor, a Christian businessman in Chicago who founded the Christian Workers Foundation in 1939. The Foundation contributed funds to the Salvation Army for use in the "Darkness to Light" campaign.

1945
Poster announcing weekly fellowship, Bible study, and prayer in Manila, ca. 1945. After the Allied forces pushed the Japanse Army out of the Phillipines at the end of World War II, Christian soldiers and military chaplains began to establish a series of small Bible studies, prayer groups, and worship meetings in U.S. occupied Manila. Out of these groups emerged the vision to start the Far Eastern Bible Institute and Seminary (now FEBIAS College of Bible) in 1948, and the formation of the Far Eastern Gospel Crusade (now called SEND International) based from the United States.

1946
Poster announcing GI Gospel Hour services in Yokohama, Tokyo, and at Johnson Air Base, c. 1946. As the Allied forces launched their campaign to sweep back over the Pacific during World War II, Christian soldiers and military chaplains began to establish a series of small Bible studies, prayer groups, and worship meetings in the secured territories. These initally informal efforts were eventually organized as "GI Gospel Hour" groups, often suported by Youth for Christ efforts. Dimensions: 16" x 10".
Large yellow poster with red text advertising a farewell rally for YFC European tour with black and white photographs of Billy Graham, Connie Templeton, Cliff Barrows, and Torrey Johnson.
Large poster with black test in Norwegian advertising dates for speakers from American Youth for Christ group with black and white photograph of Torrey Johnson, Billy Graham, Charles B. Templeton, and Dr. Stratton Shufelt.
Full-color poster promoting the first Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship student missions convention, held in Toronto in 1946. These meetings, held every three years, later became known as the Urbana conventions (from being held in Urbana, Illinois) and were an opportunity for students interested in missions to hear talks on the subject and meet representatives from mission boards. Dimmensions: 10" x 14".
Large poster with green text advertising Youth for Christ event in Liverpool on Easter Sunday with sketch of the Liverpool Stadium.

1947
Large poster with black text advertising evangelistic camp meeting featuring the musical group Palermo-4. Features black and white photograph of the Palermos with instruments and cartoon images of the Palermo family story.
Large poster with block black test in Dutch advertising dates for speakers from American Youth for Christ group.
Poster advertising Youth for Christ meeting in Grand Rapids, MI with Billy Graham, 1947. After Billy Graham and the Youth for Christ team returned from their 1945 and 1946 tours of Europe, Graham began holding his own campaigns while still under the banner of Youth for Christ. Grand Rapids was his first in mid-September 1947, three years before the founding of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in September 1950. The week-long campaign began in the nondenominational Calvary Church (founded by M.R. DeHann, seating about 1,500 people) and concluded at the larger Civic Auditorium (seating 5,500) for its final four days. Records show that 30,000 attended the meetings with 500 inquirers coming forward for counsel, prayer and to express their decision to choose and follow Jesus Christ.

1949
"Christ has set us free." Undated, possibly 1949. The English version of the Chinese text reads: "God in Christ has pardoned you. (Ephesians 4:32) / We like a bird have escaped from the bird catcher's net. (Psalm 124:7) / Christ has set us free. (Galatians 5:1)." The text on the scissors reads: "Grace which sets free." Dimensions: 22 x 32-5/8".

1950
"The Parable of the Sower," undated. The parable told by Jesus is found in Luke 8: 4-15. This story is one of the basic statements of evangelism found in the New Testament. The panels, read from right to left, illustrate verses 12, 13, 14, and 15.
"Two Roads." Undated. The English version of the Chinese text reads: "There are only two roads. I respectfully ask you, Which one are you walking on? Christ died for our sins and was buried. The third day he came to life again. The Lord is certainly coming again. If you want to find life a blessing, trust the Lord Jesus." In the upper left corner, the city is labelled Heavenly City. The road leading up to it is labeled Road to Heaven. In the lower left corner, the fire is labeled Eternal Fires of Hell. The road leading to it is labeled Road to Hell. The Chinese character for sin is inscribed on the packs carried by individuals on the road to hell. The text on the red cross reads: Christ Jesus came to earth to save sinners. The text in the tomb to left of the cross reads: The tomb from which the savior rose. Published by the Christian Book Room, 205 YuenMong Road, P.O. Box 1723, Shanghai.
"The Old Man and the New Man." Undated. The English version of the Chinese text reads: "Create a new man. You must take off the old man and its iniquity. This old man is continually being corrupted by its evil desires  (Eph. 4:22) / Put on the new man. The new man is created in God's image. It has true love and purity, (Eph. 4:24)." The various words on the old man's coat are the name of sins, such as boasting, drunkenness, pride, hatred, foolishness, adultery. Written on the shoe of the man on the right is, "trusting in man's way."Written on the clothes of the man on the left are the fruit of the Holy Spirit as described in Gal. 5:22-23: "love, peace, joy, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance." Dimensions: 21-3/8" x 30".
"The Parable of the Sower," undated. The parable told by Jesus is found in Luke 8: 4-15. This story is one of the basic statements of evangelism found in the New Testament. The panels, read from right to left, illustrate verses 12, 13, 14, and 15.
Poster advertising Voice of Christian Youth's late-summer cruise with featured musician J. Stratton Shufelt, most likely in 1950. "Boat Leaves Foot of Woodward" refers to the waterfront on the Detroit River, a short ferry ride from Windsor, Ontario. The route of the cruise was likely south toward Bois Blanc Island and Lake Erie. Joining Shufelt was the young evangelist and preacher, Jack Van Impe, later known as a television evangelist and preacher. Voice of Christian Youth organized and directed an internationally acclaimed free-admission stage production in Detroit as a Saturday night program for thousands of teenagers. Summer schedules included both Boblo boats and the island for sing-a-long cruises and programs.
One of a series of posters ca. 1950s that missionary radio station HCJB distributed to churches in the United States to help raise support for their work in Ecuador.
Poster in French and Flemish for the 1950 International Congress of Youth for Christ, held in Paris, France. YFC had started in the United States in the mid-1940s to reach teenagers and young adults. By 1950, YFC clubs and organizations had been started in many countries.

1951
Large poster advertising an evangelism meeting with Jack Shuler with black and white photograph of Jack Shuler.

1965
Poster promoting a young people's congress in Santa Cruz, Bolivia as part of the Evangelism-in-Depth Campaigns developed by Latin American Mission in the 1950s and 1960s. Dimensions: 10.75" x 16.5"

1970
Poster advertising an evangelistic crusade by Tom Skinner, a former Harlem gang leader turned evangelist. On the poster is a stylized sketch of a gang fight occurring under a marquee that reads "Harlem Crusade: Tom Skinner." The remainder of the poster includes a rendering of Skinner, his hands on an open Bible, on the left and text on the right: "Tom Skinner...From the Gang to the Gospel/ Born and raised in Harlem, NY, Tom Skinner (1942–1994) became a prominent Christian speaker, author, and advocate for racial justice in the American church. Dimensions 12-3/4" x 16-3/4".
"Kaleidoscope," c. 1970. Poster advertising a youth evangelistic event for teenagers sponsored by the Metro Youth for Christ organization of New York City, New York, USA. Dimensions: 19-1/2'' x 22-3/4".

1978
Jesus People-style poster produced by the Spiritual Counterfeits Project, underscoring the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in contrast to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Dimensions: 10" x 14.5".

1979
Poster in Swahili describing the missionary work of the Africa Inland Church of Kenya, 1979. The Africa Inland Church emerged from within the Africa Inland Mission (AIM) before governance and assets were formally seperated throughout the 1970s.