Posters and Prints

Soldiers of Western Mass. July 4, 1865

World War l Posters, 1914-1918: These posters are part of a collection gathered by Forbes librarians between 1914-1920. They relate to many facets of the war including recruiting, war bonds and loans, and the home front. Most were printed in the U.S., including some in languages other than English which were designed to reach immigrant communities. There are a large number of posters from other countries as well. Many of the posters were deacidified and encapsulated for preservation in the 1980s.

John James Audubon Prints (J. Bien, New York, 1860): In 1974, the Arts and Music Librarian discovered a cache of Audubon prints carefully stored with the World War l Poster Collection. They had been files in the same drawer, but were a wholly separate collection. 

These prints were then immediately collated and examined for their current value by Peter Uthon, art dealer of Holyoke and George Cunha, preservationist of the Northeast Documents Conservation Center in Andover. 

Upon appraisal, they were identified as a complete, authentic set of the chromolithograph edition of Birds of America from Original Drawings of John James Audubon, published by J. Bien in 1860. 

The prints were designtaed for restoration by the Forbes and an immediate application made to the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities, which awarded a preservation grant. 

Although the exact provenance is unknown, Charles Ammi Cutter, Forbes's first Librarian, probably was initially involved in securing them, as he had a special interest in art. 

These four prints represent native birds of Massachusetts.