Trench Art

Frontline soldiers in World War I were years ahead of the current fascination with "found object" art. Confined to trenches and dugouts for long periods between battles, soldiers and others involved in the war produced a dazzling array of items made from the waste of industrialized war. These items included engraved shell-cases, bullet-crucifixes, letter openers, cigarette lighters and pens made from shrapnel, and numerous national, regimental and religous images. These objects resonate with the at once terrifying and surreal world of the trenches and obviously had an influence on post-war art and literature. Nicholas Saunders is the foremost expert on "trench" art and this heavily illustrated book is, surprisingly, the first work devoted to the subject.