“The Art of War: The Rhetoric of Propaganda Posters during World War II” is the title of a new exhibit now on display at F.H.G. Library. Located on the 6th floor by Special Collections, the exhibit examines the presence and purpose of rhetorical features in World War II propaganda posters.
Created after the declaration of war on the Empire of Japan, the Office of War Information was established by the US government with the purpose of regulating the content and imagery of war messages directed to pub
lic, particularly the production of war propaganda posters. These posters dealt with a variety of themes such as the need to work, the nature of the enemy, and the need to sacrifice. Rhetorically manipulating the viewer through an plea to a distinctly American appeal to pathos and emphasizing the personal agency of a single individual within a worldwide conflict. These posters proved valuable in cultivating patriotic moral.
On display are a variety of posters reflecting the various themes and rhetorical approaches used to advertise war bonds to the public and promote a work ethic beneficial to the war effort. Visit the exhibit to learn exactly how art was weaponized and used to fight on the Home Front during the Second World War.
The exhibit is open during normal library hours.
The exhibit was created and the blog post was written by Chadd Heller, English Major and Class of 2017.
The original core of the collection was from the Chester County Cabinet of the Natural Sciences, Chester County’s first natural sciences museum. So I started with what material we have about the Cabinet. However, I discovered that its contents only pertain to the herbariums and botanical specimens contributed to the Cabinet, rather than artifacts I'm researching.
Then I went to the student newspapers. Full-text searching the student newspapers is often a great way to pinpoint relevant information. In this case, unfortunately, the papers reported on so many student trips to other museums that I couldn’t pick out information about West Chester’s own museum.
In the course catalogs, I began finding scraps of information. Starting in 1879-1880, the museum collection was located in the Main
Building in an addition that had been built in 1878-1879. When the Old Library was built in 1902, the collection was moved to its second floor. The mineral collection of the late Alfred Sharples was donated by his son F. F. Sharples in 1904-1905, and it seems that J. Preston Thomas’s collection of animal heads, horn, and Native American artifacts was made in 1906-1907. In 1909-910, over fifty Roman and Etruscan ceramic artifacts were donated by Dr. Edwin Barber, Director of the Pennsylvania Museum, and a collection of taxidermy birds and bird eggs, made by the late Frank Darlington, was added in 1915.
It seems that the attention and care given to the museum may have waned in the late 1920s. The museum was always given a paragraph description the course catalog up until 1927-1928, and in 1938-1939, it stops being mentioned at all. What does this mean? In 1939, the Old Library was renovated and perhaps the perennial problem of space in libraries led to the relocation or dissolution of the museum. Or maybe the staff responsible for the course catalog just decided not to devote space to the museum anymore. It’s hard to tell if the change in the course catalog provides anything meaningful.
Occasionally archival research yields useful information easily and quickly, but very often it doesn’t. I still don’t have any idea where I might find the provenance information I’m looking for, or a full picture of the history of the Museum Collection. Sometimes archival research is like that.
Images:
Top right image: Artifact to the left has a label reading "Pottery from Cliff dwelling ruins - 1000-2000 years before Spanish came" (Museum Collection, Box 1, 45-109). Artifact to the right has a label reading "Ancient Pueblo Pitcher 11-1200 A.D." (Museum Collection, Box 1, 45-129). Artifact in the middle is listed in the inventory as "ancient pueblo kettle with incised design" (Museum Collection, Box 1, 45-128).
Middle image: Artifact to the left has a label reading "2 Handled Cup Greek 5th-4th cent. B.C." (Museum Collection, Box 8, container 3). Artifact to the right has a label reading "Etruscan Buchero Ware 5th-3rd cent. B.C." (Museum Collection, Box 8, container 3).
Bottom image: Artifact to the left has a label reading "Cochiti Storage Bowl - Note design for four points of world, 1891" (Museum Collection Box 3, not listed in inventory.)
References
Sturzebecker, Russell L. The Centennial History of West Chester State College. West Chester: Tinicum Press, 1971.
West Chester University Course Catalog 1879-1880, pg 21.
West Chester University Course Catalog 1904-1906, pg 41.
West Chester University Course Catalog 1906-1907, pg 39.
West Chester Course Catalog 1909-1910, pg 36-39.
West Chester Course Catalog 1916-1917, pg 44.
Wolfe, Esther. "Accession List of Recataloged Items."
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