Wisconsin Historical Society Processing Archivist, Emil Hoelter, who will present “Posters as Propaganda: Selling WWI to America.” This event is free and open to the public. When the United States entered what came to be known as the First World War, it began an unprecedented publicity campaign to persuade all segments of American society about the war effort. From recruitment to food conservation to workplace habits, the artists behind these posters (already popular illustrators of the day) created beautiful and iconic images that still speak to us today. The Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison currently houses a collection of more than 350 posters created between 1914 and 1918. In this presentation, archivist Emil Hoelter will talk about the history of poster art in World War I, how the Wisconsin Historical Society came to collect and preserve these posters, and what this effort can tell us about historical collecting in the present. Emil Hoelter is the Manuscripts Processing Archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society. He completed his Masters degree in Library and Information Studies at UW-Madison in 2010. He currently arranges collections on topics such as civil rights, labor history, and mass communication. This lecture event is the third of six scheduled speakers on the topic of WWI, a 2018 Historium-Mount Horeb Public Library partner program commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice. The November 1918 armistice, which took effect on “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month,” ended four years of devastating conflict across the globe and marked a hard-fought victory for Allies Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United States. Call the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society to learn more about this series at 608-437-6486 or email mthorebhistory@mhtc.net.