Zigman Poster Collection
An incredible collection of original, fully-restored American, British and French WWI and WWII posters
are on display on the third and fourth floors of the War Memorial Center.
Poster art during WWI was enormously important as it was the only form of mass communication, with the exception of newspapers, before the advent of radio and television. The posters represent a method of encouraging support for the war effort through recruiting, fund raising, general propaganda purposes, and support for the boys in uniform.
Poster art was used during WWII, but not on the scale that it was during WWI. Many of the posters were distributed through banks, military recruiting stations, post offices and governmental agencies. Many of these posters are the result of work done by leading artists of the day.
This significant collection was
painstakingly put together over a period of 60 years by Robert Zigman. The collection was donated by Robert S. and Robert W. Zigman in loving memory of their beloved wife and mother,
Dorothy Zigman. Mr. Zigman has made donations from his collection to West Point and public libraries, schools and historical societies throughout the greater Milwaukee area. The posters which are housed in the War Memorial Center make up the largest contribution of posters made by Zigman.