Of the chief belligerents not yet mentioned, it is notable that Italy, the native home of the arts, produced few posters of the ordinary type that possessed either originality or definite individual character. The journalistic cartoon, always a powerful means of propaganda in Italy, had a great vogue in the earliest months of the war; and the most popular and able artists of the country fought for the Allied cause with an abandon and self-denial that one remembers with the warmest gratitude. In June and July, 1916, an exhibition of drawings was held at the Leicester Galleries, entitled "Italian Artists and the War." There were several actual poster designs, but by far the larger proportion of the drawings exhibited consisted of war cartoons and caricatures akin to those of Raemaekers and Dyson, though prints from them were extensively displayed upon newspaper bills and walls in Rome and other Italian cities. Serving a double purpose, they were to this extent small posters, and cannot be dismissed without some word of the high praise due to them. Such an incessant and effective war was waged upon Germany and German ideals by these cartoons that, before Italy threw in her lot with the Allies, the Embassies of the Central Powers sought to stay their issue, and to that end prosecuted the most prolific and merciless of the cartoonists, Gabriele Galantara. Cynicism, scorn, contempt, and an utter abhorrence of Germany and all her acts are expressed in these impulsive sketches; and it is no wonder that they acted as a powerful spur upon the Italian people, showing which way led towards freedom and humanity. It would seem, however, that this great campaign, begun so early by the Italian artists before their nation was ready to participate in the struggle, and continued with a violent energy during the earliest months of Italian fighting, exhausted their resources to a considerable extent. Moreover, many of the most eminent among them--Sachetti, Oppo, Ventura, Codognato, and others--at once joined the Italian forces, mostly as combatants, and a few older men, like Pogliaghi, accompanied the armies to illustrate, in thrilling terms, the formidable achievements of their country amid the mighty fastnesses of the Tyrol. When the time arrived for the Italian Government to issue War Loan and other posters, the most capable of her designers were no longer accessible.