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Go directly to the collection, Newspaper Pictorials: World War I Rotogravures, in American Memory, or view a Summary of Resources related to the collection.

During the World War I era (1914-18), leading U.S. newspapers took advantage of a new printing technique called rotogravure that produced richly detailed, high quality illustrations. This online collection, Newspaper Pictorials: World War I Rotogravures, includes Sunday rotogravure sections of the New York Times and the New York Tribune, as well as a portfolio of etchings published by the New York Times at the end of 1919, approximately a year after the armistice and six months after the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty. The latter portfolio, The War of the Nations: Portfolio in Rotogravure Etchings, contains 1,398 images with brief descriptive captions drawn from the “Mid-Week Pictorial” section of the Times.

Rotogravure sections in newspapers were immensely popular. The collages of photographs from the front lines captured the intensity of the fighting. Coverage of casualties and photographs of the destruction of total war helped influence how readers viewed world events and were important tools for promoting U.S. propaganda prior to entry into the conflict in 1917. Events of the war are detailed alongside portraits of noted personalities of the day, society news, and advertisements touting products, some of which are linked to the war.

Newspaper Pictorials: World War I Rotogravures enhances the study of U.S. history during the World War I era. It is an illustrated history of the Great War and offers insights into the social history of the era on the home front through pictorials of high society, fashion, the arts, celebrations, parades, and memorials. The collection includes a detailed timeline of pivotal events of the Great War and a series of essays on events and statistics of the war; innovative technology; the Lusitania disaster; propaganda; and the rotogravure process. Additionally, the collection chronicles events stemming from the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and the subsequent excursion of the American Expeditionary Force into Mexico prior to the U.S. entry into World War I.
The collection can be searched by keyword or be browsed by date and title. For browsing by date and title, it is useful to know that the New York Times collection begins in November 1913 and the New York Tribune begins in January 1916; the War of the Nations was published in December 1919.

• Mexican Expedition |
• War in Europe |
• The Home Front |
• Russian Revolution of 1917 |
• Military Technology

Mexican Expedition

The Mexican Revolution of 1910 removed a dictator but soon degenerated into a civil war. Francisco Madero became president in 1911 but was overthrown by Victoriano Huerta in 1913. President Woodrow Wilson refused to recognize the new Mexican government, accusing Huerta of complicity in the murder of Madero. After several incidents, Wilson ordered U.S. Marines to occupy Vera Cruz. Shortly thereafter, Huerta was forced from office, and civil war again broke out, this time between the government of President Venustiano Carranza and populist leaders, including Francisco Pancho Villa.

What does the caption above suggest about U.S. attitudes toward Pancho Villa? Based on the caption and what you know about U.S.-Mexican relations of the period, can you predict which side the U.S. government supported in the Mexican civil war?

Examine the pages listed below. Using information from these pages and your own knowledge, outline reasons why the United States decided to send troops to Mexico. Do you think the list is comprehensive? Why or why not?

• New York Times, January 18, 1914 [2]
• New York Times, January 25, 1914 [4].
• New York Times, May 7, 1916 [7].
• New York Times, April 2, 1916 [9].
• New York Times, April 23, 1916 [9].

With a partner, assume the roles of a U.S. citizen from a Southwestern state and a Mexican citizen from northern Mexico and debate the efficacy of using troops to enter Mexico to apprehend Villa. Consider German interests in the conflict between the United States and Villa in making your case.

The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) was unable to track down Villa and was recalled in 1917 as the United States made preparations for sending troops to Europe. Do you think the failure of the AEF to apprehend Villa signaled a problem with military preparedness? Why or why not? What evidence would you need to answer this question definitively?