Szyk, Arthur [Artur]; Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe; American League for a Free Palestine

[FOUR SETS OF STAMPS DESIGNED BY ARTHUR SZYK, WITH RELATED LETTER AND PAMPHLETS, SIX ITEMS TOTAL].

New York: the Committee; the League, 1944. Item #41943

1st edition. A group of six items in total, including the following: 1) "They must not die: Save human lives," a brochure containing the Committee's plan of action (rescuing Jews from Axis-controlled countries and aiding those who have already escaped). The back cover states, "The Emergency Committee welcomes this opportunity to reproduce the inspiring creations of the virile pen and the creative heart of Arthur Szyk, in the form of Poster Stamps. The Committee hopes that generous support in contributions for and distributions of these Poster Stamps, will be forthcoming from the American people, to enable it to carry on its emergency mission for the rescue of some four million martyred humans. Let it not be said that the two million who have been exterminated have died in vain..." Inside are a folded sheet of Szyk’s 5 separate designs showing four scenes of the oppressed Jews of Europe–and, famously, one defiant image of a British Soldier, his machine gun raised in anger, holding a fallen elderly Jewish man. The sheets of stamps inside have adhered together, and we have not tried to separate them, but 2 rows of all five designs are visible. 2) There is a six-panel brochure similarly tilted: “The Shall Not Die - Save Human Lives - They Must Not Die,” advertising two other types of stamps: "Help us survive," showing Jewish men breaking away from a swastika made of barbed wire, and a set depicting the Four Freedoms.3) A full sheet of Szyk’s well-known full-color depictions, on stamps, of the 4 American freedoms celebrated by FDR in his famous Jan 1941 Speech (Of Speech, Of Religion, From Want, From Fear) 4) A full sheet of Szyk’s “Help Us Survive” stamps (adhered together where the sheet was naturally folded in half along the perferations), described in the above brochure, showing a middle aged and older Jewish man fleeing a barbed-wire swastika. 5) A brochure from the American League for a Free Palestine, issued in 1945, titled "There were 4 sons," with nine pages of text updating the story of the four sons from the Passover parable to meet the contemporary situation, followed by four sheets of stamps (one sheet in green, one in purple, one in orange, one in brown) by Szyk depicting the Wise Son from the Hagadah, here dressed as a soldier, with the slogan "For a Free Palestine." This booklet is in very good condition.6) Accompanying these items is a printed cover letter, partly toned, dated September 1944, urging the recipient to use the stamps on the backs of envelopes to draw attention to the ongoing Holocaust, and asking for donations to support the Committee's work. "The Emergency Committee welcomes this opportunity to reproduce the inspiring creations of the virile pen and the creative heart of Arthur Szyk, in the form of Poster Stamps. The Committee hopes that generous support in contributions for and distributions of these Poster Stamps, will be forthcoming from the American people, to enable it to carry on its emergency mission for the rescue of some four million martyred humans. Let it not be said that the two million who have been exterminated have died in vain. The grim stories of Nazi atrocities are true and they cannot be dismissed like a bad dream. Such crimes are a challenge to all civilized persons…" (from the inside back cover of “They Must Not Die: Save Human Lives”). In two cases, the stamps have stuck together because of the glue on the rear, otherwise Very Good Condition, all very displayable. Rare Szyk items (ART-28-10-ECC).

Price: $2,000.00