Press Releases

January 28, 2010

The Winds & Words of War: Posters and Prints from the San Antonio Public Library, a collection of 40 framed vintage posters bequeathed to the San Antonio Public Library by eclectic collector Harry Hertzberg, will be on display at Harford County Public Library beginning March 20th through May 31, 2010. Harford County Public Library (HCPL) is one of only 7 locations in the nation to house the exhibit.

During World War I, the U.S. Office of Public Information formed a committee chaired by renowned illustrator Charles Dana Gibson to create a line of posters to mobilize the American public on behalf of the war. Members of the committee included Haskill Coffin, Howard Chandler Christy, and the creator of “Uncle Sam Wants You,” James Montgomery Flagg.

These unique lithographs feature famous images of patriotic themes and messages, including several created for international groups interested in supporting the war by cultivating recent immigrants and new American citizens. The words and text used, as well as the powerful imagery, convey the sense of urgency as well as the mass marketing effect of advertising a war for the first time in modern history. These works provide a fascinating window into the era, and the beginnings of the American effort in support of the war known variously as the “Great War,” “the war to end all wars,” and “the war to make the world safe for democracy.”

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will be on display at the Bel Air and Jarrettsville Branch of the Harford County Public Library on Monday, Friday and Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays from 1 pm to 8 pm. Guided group tours are also available upon request. A full color, glossy 64-page catalog featuring the prints and posters in The Winds and Words of War collection will be available for sale at the Bel Air and Jarrettsville branches. The commemorative book includes essays by renowned authorities.

Trained docents will be available at both the Bel Air and Jarrettsville exhibits. Docents will provide interesting facts and details about the exhibit and the leading artists who were commissioned to create them. If you are interested in volunteering to be a docent please contact Susan Burdette, Program and Community Relations Specialist at 410 273 5600 x2243.

There are several events scheduled in celebration of The Winds and Words of War exhibit. A Preview Party will be held on March 19th at the Bel Air branch from 5 to 7 pm. Tickets for this sneak peak look at the exhibit are $20 each. The library’s annual Night Out @ the Library will feature the exhibit’s curator, Allison Hays Lane. This event takes place on April 30th from 7 to 9 pm at the Jarrettsville branch. Tickets for this event are $30 each. Tickets for both of these events go on sale on February 22nd and will be available online at hcploneline.info.

A film series, lead by Jack and Jan Hirschfeld, will take place at the Havre de Grace branch on March 24, 31, April 7, May 5, 12, 19 and will include pre and post-screening discussions of six films that capture different points of view during the World War I era. There will be two showings each day at 1 pm and 5:30 pm. Tickets are free but seating is limited. At the Whiteford branch, Michael Lasser will speak about popular songs of World War I and their social values, both comic and revealing of attitudes of the time. This program is on May 14 at 6:30 pm. Registration is required.

Bel Air, Edgewood and Joppa will also be hosting book discussion groups on WW I literature.
For more information about the exhibit, library programs, and sponsorship opportunities please visit us on the web at hcplonline.info/WindsandWordsofWar.

Harford County Public Library operates eleven branches located throughout Harford County, Maryland. The library serves over 200,000 registered borrowers of all ages and has an annual circulation of almost 5,000,000. Harford County Public Library is committed to providing access, service and information to the citizens of Harford County anytime, anywhere and creating an environment that encourages the acquisition of knowledge and the love of reading.

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Photo caption #1: The Winds and Words of War: Posters and Prints from the San Antonio Public Library, a collection of 40 WW I vintage posters will be on display at the Bel Air and Jarrettsville branches of Harford County Public Library from March 20 through May 31. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

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