The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum announced today that, with the assistance of Sen. Mark Warner it recently acquired a collection of 120 Signal Corps photographs from President Wilson’s trip to Europe for the Paris Peace Conference following World War I.
Many of the photographs are of President Wilson. Barbara Rohmann of Fairfax County, Virginia, donated the collection, which is now a part of the WWPL’s archival collection and will eventually be added to the on-line Wilson eLibrary. The photographs belonged to Ms. Rohmann’s grandfather, Howard Talbott MacFall, Sr., who, while stationed at Fort Myer, Virginia, during World War I, was selected to accompany President Wilson’s Peace Commission to Europe.
The Presidential Library learned about Ms. Rohmann’s photographs from Senator Mark Warner’s office, which she contacted to help her find a suitable repository for the collection. Senator Warner put her in touch with the Presidential Library. Peggy Dillard, the Presidential Library’s Director of Library and Archives, contacted Ms. Rohmann and drove to Northern Virginia to meet with her and pick up the photographs, which were stored in a vintage cigar box.
Don W. Wilson, the president and CEO of the WWPL, said, “These photographs are valuable additions to our collection and, as the centennial of President Wilson’s administration and World War I approaches, they will help us educate the public about President Wilson and the war. We appreciate Ms. Rohmann’s generosity and the confidence she and Senator Warner showed in us.”
“It is really remarkable that such valuable and previously unknown historical photos were stored for years in a cigar box, and it certainly was our pleasure to work with Mrs. Rohmann and direct her to the resources of the Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton,” Sen. Warner said.
The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum is open 360 days a year for guests from around the world to tour the President’s Birthplace, the historic gardens, and the Woodrow Wilson Museum, including the President’s 1919 Pierce-Arrow limousine and the new World War I trench exhibit.
The Presidential Library also sponsors educational programming for thousands of schoolchildren each year and hosts teachers’ institutes and a variety of other educational symposia. In addition, the Presidential Library attracts top-flight speakers, including Scott Berg, Larry Sabato, Cokie Roberts, Bill Schneider, Robert Samuelson, John Milton Cooper, and Edward Lengel.
For more information, visit the WWPL’s website at www.woodrowwilson.org.
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Chris Graham
