Spanish Civil War Poster: Signed by a Member of the Lincoln Brigade (circa 1938)
An original Spanish Civil War poster signed in pencil by a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: “Greetings from fighting, Spanish Republican Army, Mike Shantzek, Lincoln Brigade.” The Brigade was a group of roughly 3,000 American volunteers who fought as part of the International Brigades against fascist forces.
According to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, Mike Shantzek/Shantsky was a union painter in San Francisco before volunteering for the war in Spain. He sailed for Albacete, Spain, on May 8, 1937, where he served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln-Washington Battalion as a medic, and was wounded in action on March 10, 1938. He returned to the U.S. in December of that year. He was arrested in 1954 for his ties to the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). It is unknown when Shantzek might have signed the poster.
The posters promotes the work of the Catalonian people in the defense of the Republic’s front lines and the headline translates roughly to "Catalonia defends itself by attacking on the fronts of the Republic." Sponsored by Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas (JSU) Secretariat of Propaganda, a common producer of Republican propaganda during the war. The JSU emphasized themes of unity and the mobilization of youth, both domestically and globally, against fascism. These themes are reflected in this poster’s subtext, which reads: Joventut Catalana en una sola federació nacional popular revolucionaria (“Catalan youth in a single popular revolutionary national federation”).
Professionally restored and linen-backed on canvas. Choose Priority Mail shipping at checkout (not available for media mail shipping). Item #1950.
Condition: Very Good+, professionally cleaned, restored, and linen-backed on canvas; restoration addressed edgewear and small chips from previous folding, including replacement of minor losses along edges etc., now presents very well.
Price: $2,000.00