Molly Guptill Manning
As an author and historian, my collecting interests have centered on the power of the written word. In the course of writing my most recent books When Books Went to War and The War of Words, I developed collections of the materials troops read, wrote, and published during wartime. I have a substantial collection of Armed Services Editions, the miniature paperbacks produced for troops during World War II, as well as miniature magazines, troop-produced newspapers, and other related ephemera. While my main focus is World War II, I am also interested in the reading and publishing opportunities troops had during World War I and the Civil War. Thus, the objects I selected for display include the Armed Services Edition of The Great Gatsby from World War II, an American Library Association brochure asking the public to donate books for troops in World War I, and a letter written by a relative of mine on Libby Prison stationery (excerpts of his letters were published in newspapers) during the Civil War.
F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The Great Gatsby.
Editions for the Armed Services, Inc., No. 862.
This pocket-sized Armed Services Edition of The Great Gatsby is credited with rescuing the book from obscurity. When the title was first published in 1925, it did not sell well and when Fitzgerald died in 1940, he considered himself and the book a failure. However, in October 1945, 155,000 Armed Services Editions of Gatsby were sent to U.S. troops, and interest in the title blossomed. Thanks to this miniature edition, Gatsby became an American classic.
American Library Association.
“Hey Fellows!”
1918.
The American Library Association took an active role in collecting books for troops during World War I. In this attractive flyer, the American Library Association advertises its Library War Service, which collected money to buy books, as well as donated tomes. The image on this flyer, by John E. Sheridan, was also made into a poster.
Letter from Edward G. McCleary to his mother.
December 4, 1864.
Union soldier Edward G. McCleary was captured by Confederate soldiers in 1864, after he was shot three times during battle. Taken to the notorious Libby Prison, McCleary was ultimately released in a prisoner swap and managed to secure this extraordinarily rare Libby Prison stationery to send his mother a letter, assuring her he was still alive. The poem on the front of the stationery is about a dying soldier sending one last letter home.