"Together We Win: The Philadelphia Homefront During the First World War" Opens at the Library Company
On November 11, 2016, the Library Company of Philadelphia opened its new exhibition Together We Win: The Philadelphia Homefront During the First World War. Co-curated by Reference Librarian Linda August and Curator of Prints and Photographs Sarah Weatherwax, this exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of America's entrance into the war and the sacrifices and contributions Philadelphians made to the Allied cause. More specifically, the exhibition explores the role that the Library Company, its staff, and its shareholders played in supporting the war effort. Visitors will experience the sights and sounds of Philadelphia during this time period through the exhibition's incorporation of music, flags, colorful posters, photographs, books, maps, scrapbooks, and many other kinds of ephemera.
During the war, the American Library Association, of which the Library Company was a founding member, collected millions of books and magazines to send to the troops. In keeping with that tradition, the Library Company is collecting new or gently-used paperback books to donate to Operation Paperback, an organization that sends books to members of the military. A dollar bill tucked inside each donated book would be greatly appreciated to help defray the cost of shipping the books overseas.
Together We Win will run from November 11 until April 21, 2017. The gallery is open Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:45pm and admission to the exhibition is free. Programming related to the exhibition will include:
PAFA Performances: The Music of World War I
Saturday, February 11, 2017 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Co-sponsored by the Library Company of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Citizen Artists: World War I and the Creative Economy Symposium, Saturday, March 11 -Sunday, March 12, 2017 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts at 2 p.m.
Curated tour of Together We Win at the Library Company of Philadelphia, Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 4 p.m.
Gallery tour for Library Company members of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts' exhibition World War I and American Art, Saturday, March 25, 2017 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts at 2 p.m.
Additional ticket information will be available closer to the date of each event. Please register for Library Company events and programs in advance at www.librarycompany.org/events or call Clarissa Lowry at 215-546-318. Check our website for more updates on upcoming events at www.togetherwewin.librarycompany.org
Images: From left to right: August William Hutaf, Treat 'Em Rough! Join the Tanks, 1917. Color lithograph. / Charles Buckles Falls, Books Wanted for Our Men, 1918. Color lithograph. / Lloyd Harrison, Corn, The Food of the Nation, 1918. Color lithograph. Library Company of Philadelphia.
About The Library Company of Philadelphia
Founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, the Library Company of Philadelphia is an independent research library and educational institution specializing in American and global history from the 17th through the early 20th centuries. Claiming one of the world's largest holdings of early American imprints, the Library Company also has internationally-renowned collections in early African American history, economic history, women's history, the history of medicine, and visual culture. The Library Company promotes access to these collections through fellowships, exhibitions, programs, and online resources. To find out more, please visit www.librarycompany.org.
