Soldier Boy & the Living Uncle Sam

Roy Perkins was inducted into the armed service on August 21, 1918. He received his boot training at Camp Fremont in California, then was sent to New York where they remained in camp about one month before they shipped out for active duty and headed for France.

They were on the ocean only a day or two when, on November 11, a wireless message reached their ship informing them that an armistice had been signed - the Great War was over!

As it says in Roy's life story, "they turned back, a shipload of disappointed kids."

They landed at Camp Lee, Virginia, where they remained until spring. While at Camp Lee, Roy was one of the soldiers who gathered for a photo called The Living Uncle Sam.

There are 19,000 soldiers forming this image of Uncle Sam - Roy is standing in the white collar. His original picture hung in their home throughout his life - he and Lillian were very proud of it, and it has always been one of our family treasures.

I got curious about this photo - wouldn't something like this be well-known?

So I did what any researcher with my skill and training (none) would do...I Googled it!

And this is what I found...

Arthur Mole was an English born photographer and commercial artist who became famous for his series of "living photographs" made during World War I.  For these photographs, Mole and his partner, John Thomas, used tens of thousands of soldiers, reservists, and nurses - and arranged them in various patriotic symbols.

From the ground, the soldiers' formations looked meaningless. But from the 80 foot high viewing tower where Mole stood, you could see his intricately arranged artistic shapes and portraits.

The blog Dark Roasted Blend has a great article called "People as Pixels in Monumental Art" that tells about these photographs

In that article, Avi Abrams tells how Mole would stand on his viewing tower and shout into a megaphone or use a long pole with a white flag to arrange the tens of thousands of soldiers into position. He had to figure out the exact number of soldiers needed for each pattern, and every project took many weeks of meticulous preparation.

Mole and Thomas visited many military camps throughout the country, creating these wonderful works of art.  They donated all their income from this project to the families of the returning soldiers and to the government's efforts to rebuild their lives.

The most well-known of Mole's photographs was the Living Portrait of Woodrow Wilson. For this photo, he used 21,000 troops at Camp Sherman in Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1918.

Do you have an ancestor who was part of this project? Maybe one of these photos is among your family treasures!

 

You can read more about this project here.

And you can see more images at the

Library of Congress gallery, not copyrighted.

Courtesy of Dark Roasted Blend, Chicago Historical Society, and Library of Congress.

Comments

[everydayMOM]

Wow! Those are amazing! I have done some jigsaw puzzles like that... where the picture is a mosaic made up of tiny pictures of people's faces. I had no idea someone had made a picture like that from REAL people! Unbelievable!

Thanks for reading my blog! I'm curious where you get all of your stories.

[Jenny-Jenny]

Nice work!! I have always loved that picture and have been amazed at the detail that Mole could get without use of a computer!! I remember staring at it wondering about a tower and how one would even start. AWESOME.

[Patti]

Fantastic pieces of art in a truly unique medium. Mole had to have a intricate sense of space to be able to envision what all those heads and shoulders would look like in the end. These are great!

[April (DirtPrincess)]

That is unreal!

[JoLyn]

Thanks for reading my blog too!

I'm just really lucky to be in a family of people who have done lots of research and collected family stories for years!

On my About page, you can see pictures of the family history books they have written and compiled. I am really enjoying taking these stories and telling them in my blog!

[Dawn]

Wonderful! I can't wait for Dad to see this! I wish Grandma could. We need to get this blog passed on to his descendants! Good Job!!

[Mike J]

That's a cool picture. I remember seeing it in your parents house. Today I'm sure the plans would all be done on the computer but it must have taken a lot more planning back then to pull something like that off.

[everydayMOM]

Wow! That's amazing that you have such a well-documented family history. Good for you for telling those stories on your blog. That's a very unique approach to blogging and certainly shows the love you have for your family.

[Dad]

Jo, I've looked for Dad in that picture, alone and with other members of his family, many times. We were never quite sure we found the right person. The picture, as you said in your blog, was always in a prominent place in our home. As a kid I have sat with the picture on my lap and counted the number of soldiers in a measured length along the near row and tried to compare with the number in the same length in the farthest row; I've wondered why the men in dark uniforms were bundled up in overcoats and hats but the men in white appear to be fairly lightly dressed and no hat; I remember wondering if they had a choice to have their picture taken (and now, after being in the army myself, I know they didn't), I remember asking if each one got a picture or not, and on and on. I remember Dad saying that the first men were marched onto the field very early in the morning that day and stood there in the sun until they were all in place and the picture was finally taken just at sundown. I think the picture, along with the WW1 songs our parents sang, and other similar things they did left us feeling close to them and with a deep love for this great land of America. Thanks for the blog. I've learned more in these last few minutes than I've known all these years.

[JoLyn]

Thanks Dad!

[Nora]

Those are great photos! How great that you have a family story to go with it. You should take it on Antiques Road Show :-)

[Rhonda]

Certainly a much better alternative to Spencer Tunick. I love this and how much time and thought was put into the designs. Thanks for sharing this.

[Tipper]

JoLyn I've never heard of these pictures before-of course I've seen modern day ones-but never the ones using the soldiers. They are just amazing and how neat that one of your Grandfathers was in one!!

[LMerie]

What awesome pics! Those are great - especially for you knowing your grandfathere is in there!

Thanks for coming bythe other day, the link would not go through from your name - noticed your comment on Rhonda's post and wanted to come visit!

Smiles!

[JoLyn]

I love it when you add your memories to my blog posts - it makes them so much better!

[Patricia]

I've written a children's magazine article and am in the process of writing a children's biography on Arthur Mole, the photographer of these "living photos".

Many times, the men left the camp before the postcards or photos went on sale ($1.00).

[Patricia]

One more thing, they were in different types of uniforms so there would be a contrast in the photo for the different shades needed. (Remember, these were black and white photos.)

Therefore, the men were in white uniforms or their shirt-sleeves for the light colors.

Arthur Mole made at least 26 of these photos - about eight with his church, one with school children (his last "living photo") and the rest with the military.

[JoLyn]

Thanks for your additional info Patricia - I'm interested in knowing everything I can about it. I'd love to read your article!

[Mark]

hi, may I ask, how much would this photograph be worth today?Arthur Mole, Living Portrait of President Woodrow Wilson, 1918 Thank You

[Patricia]

A presentation album of 10 Mole & Thomas photos sold at auction for $4112.50. However, this was an album presented to the Secretary of War in 1918.

[Wendi]

What a neat post! I especially liked the Liberty Bell picture--since I served my mission in Philadelphia. :)