BRENTWOOD — The Friends of the Brentwood Library feature the antique fans of a Brentwood collector on display in the library's Glass Showcase during February.

This exhibit displays many different types of fans — from the most basic to the most ornate such as fans that are hand-painted with the "sticks" of the fan enhanced with beautiful engravings.

The Fixed Fan is a one-sided fan that many may remember from years past as fans that carried advertising or were available in churches to cool the congregation before air conditioning.

The Folding Fan was, as the name implies, a fan that folded with designs generally on the "leaf" of the fan. The "leaf" could have been made from materials as simple as paper to animal skin, laces, tortoise shell or mother of pearl. The "sticks" for the fan were also made of many diverse materials, from the most basic wood to ivory, bone, tortoise shell, metal and celluloid, to name a few.

Fans, in addition to being decorative, often tell a significant part of history. Often fans are painted with images from Greek or Roman mythology or from Bible stories.

Until air conditioning was universally available in the United States, fans were often considered a fashion accessory and ladies had hand-held fans to match outfits. Fan making is no longer done in the United States, but the tradition is still carried on in England by The Worshipful Company of Fan Makers, fan makers to the Royal Family.

The Friends of the Library invite the public to view the fans in the Glass Showcase during regular business hours during February at 8209 Concord Road.

For further information, call 615-371-0090.