Corn-and-wheat elevator banner — NER Grain Drive

Context

Two-color paper banner used to identify designated grain-collection points during one of NER's American food drives. Printed in red on cream stock and intended to be displayed beside or above a grain elevator that accepted donations in kind — a logistical cousin to the bundle stations and clothing drops that NER ran simultaneously in many American towns. Banners of this type, distributed to local committees, allowed NER's New York office to convert in-kind donations of midwestern wheat and corn into shipped relief without depending on cash giving alone.

The banner is undated and unsigned. The phrase "Cared For by Near East Relief" places it after the August 1919 federal incorporation of the Near East Relief, when the organization standardized its name. The condition of the paper substrate and the visible folding suggest a production-grade ephemeral sign rather than a wall poster.