Permanent Exhibits
Birds
WWI Posters
We have one of the largest collections of original WWI posters in the country!
We have over 48 framed World War Posters which were preserved since 1970 by then librarian Miss Emma Phiel. A grant written to frame and catalog this collection enables visitors to view them on our interior walls.
World War I is sometimes referred to as “the poster war,” as propaganda posters were utilized more heavily than in any other war, before or since. In an age before radio, television, or the internet, posters were the most effective way for the government to reach millions of Americans with information, instructions, and requests for help. During the war, posters were used to drum up patriotism, vilify the enemy, recruit soldiers, raise money and supplies, and conserve scarce resources
Visit Patterson Library to see these masterpieces of graphic design.
Model ShipsOn loan from Mark and Debra Puckhaber, and now on display in the Reference Room, is a model ship built by George Rubin, the Benjamin W. Latham. This is the second of George’s remarkable ships we have on display. The other, the Essex, can also be seen in the Reference Room. The Benjamin W. Latham was built in the Tarr & James yard at Essex, Massachussetts in 1902, sailing out of Noank, Connecticut as a mackerel steiner. She was lost off the coast of San Juan in 1943. Amazingly detailed, these ships represent years of patient work. |
Westfield Portrait Photograph Collections

