August William Hutaf
August "Gus" William Hutaf (1874–1942) was an illustrator, commercial artist, and advertising executive during the 1900s. His most recognized work is the 1917 World War I recruiting poster for the Tank Corps titled, "Treat 'Em Rough! Join the Tanks!"
Also recorded as August "Gus" William Hutaf · August Hutaf · Gus Hutaf
August William Hutaf

August William Hutaf · Public domain
- Name
- August William Hutaf
- Born
- 25 February 1874
- Birthplace
- Hoboken, New Jersey
- Died
- 28 October 1942
- Known for
- Advertisements, illustrations, sculpture, and murals
- Movement
- Arts and Crafts
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- illustrator · art director
- Movements
- Arts and Crafts movement
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August "Gus" William Hutaf (1874–1942) was an illustrator, commercial artist, and advertising executive during the 1900s. His most recognized work is the 1917 World War I recruiting poster for the Tank Corps titled, "Treat 'Em Rough! Join the Tanks!"
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — August William Hutaf • Born — 25 February 1874 • Birthplace — Hoboken, New Jersey • Died — 28 October 1942 • Place of death — Hoboken, New Jersey • Known for — Advertisements, illustrations, sculpture, and murals • Notable Works — "Treat 'Em Rough! Join the Tanks" (1917) • Style — Realism, Naturalism • Movement — Arts and Crafts • Website — http: www.hutaf.com/
Personal life
Personal life
• Illustration — "Treat 'Em Rough!" (1917) Illustrated by Hutaf Hutaf was born on February 25 in Hoboken, New Jersey. His year of birth has been listed as being either 1874 or 1879. In adulthood, Hutaf stood at 6 foot 4 inches and weighed more than 300 pounds. He and his wife Lil had no children. During his career, Hutaf was friends with writers Christopher Morley, Ogden Nash, and Robert Benchley. He died on October 28, 1942, in Hoboken.
Career
Career
Hutaf was an advertising executive and held positions at various companies as an art director. In 1914, he resigned as art director of the United States Printing and Lithographing Company to become art director of the A.M. Briggs Company. In this position he was in charge of prepping posters and handling selling plans for advertisers. In 1921, Hutaf was listed as the former vice president of Einson Litho, Inc., and former art director of the United States Lithograph Company of the William H. Rankin Company. He was also associated with the outdoor advertising company, Ivan B. Nordhem of New York. In 1908, two Leap Year postcard sets designed by Hutaf were released by Paul C. Koeber and Illustrated Postcard Co. In 1916, Hutaf was awarded $1,000 by the Poster Advertising Association for the best poster to advertise poster advertising. His design featured a waterfall with gold and purple mountains in the background. A rainbow and "Niagara-green" silhouette is in the foreground. Its purpose was to symbolize the "beauty, power, and impressiveness' of poster advertising. In 1917, Hutaf illustrated a recruitment poster for WWI Tank Corps. It encouraged men to join the Tank Corps, which was a relatively new unit at the time. In this same year, Hutaf was elected to be a member of the American Press Humorists Association. Hutaf served as the chairman of the poster committee in the First Annual Exhibition of Advertising Paintings and Drawings of the Art Directors Club. Throughout his career, Hutaf created artwork for postcards, theatre programs, sheet music, book illustrations, and national advertisements. The subjects for most of his art were children, as evidenced in his series of postcards, "Candy Kids," "Little Hayseeds," and "Blacktown Babies." Hutaf, inspired by his nephew playing in the snow, designed the Jack Frost Sugar logo. Beyond illustrations and paintings, he also designed mission pottery that captured the colors and scenery of California. Hutaf painted a mural at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Cartoon of a small child dressed as a Shriner.
August William Hutaf · https: freemasonry.bcy.ca/art/hutaf/index.html

Cartoon of a small child as a Freemason, building the word "MASON" out of alphabet blocks. Note that block in the child's hand has the letters "R", "U", and "A": thus, the message is "Are You A Mason".
August William Hutaf · https: freemasonry.bcy.ca/art/hutaf/index.html
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1874
August William Hutaf was born on 25 February 1874.
1942
August William Hutaf died on 28 October 1942.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “August William Hutaf”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q23020516: August William Hutaf
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.August William Hutaf Quick Facts. Hutaf.
- 2.August Hutaf. askART.
- 3.August Hutaf Biography. askART.
- 4.'Gus' Hutaf. Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. 2014.
- 5.Associated Advertising. Associated Advertising: Official Organ Associated Advertising Clubs of the World. 6. 33. 1915.
- 6.Printers' Ink Publishing Company. Printers' Ink. 89. 20. 1914.
- 7.Marketing Communications. 115. 130. 1921.
- 8.Nuhn, Roy. Vintage Leap Year Postcards. Antique Trader. 14 March 2009.
- 9.Printers' Ink Publishing Company. Printers' Ink. 96. 53. 18 February 2016.
- 10.Treat 'Em Rough! Join the Tanks-WWI Propaganda. World War Era.
- 11.Judge Publishing Company. The Judge. 73. 1917.
- 12.Publishers Printing Company. Annual of Advertising Art in the United States. 6. 1921.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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- Auguste BorgetIllustrator
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