The two scrapbooks were created by Phyllis G. Chew, who lived in Salem, New Jersey.
Information derived from the scrapbooks.
The two scrapbooks created by Phyllis Chew, of Salem, New Jersey, are each labeled "war album scrap book" on the front covers. The scrapbooks document with newspaper clippings, both text and pictures, the daily events reported regarding World War I. A number of Chew's clippings are from the Philadelphia Ledger.
The first album chronicles the beginning of the war in August 1914 and continues through January 29, 1915. In addition to events, the clippings chosen also identify the national and military persons leading the war efforts for each nation.
The second album begins in March of 1915 and continues through April of 1917, when the United States entered the war. Many of the 1917 clippings relate to the family of Russian Czar Nicholas II. The second album also includes a few clippings regarding the American pursuit of Pancho Villa in Mexico in 1916-1917. This album also includes two pages of "notes" by Chew, which are her synopsis of the events, including the U.S. entrance to the war (April 5, 1917) and the end date for war (November 11, 1918).