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The Kent Collector, Fall/Winter 2006 VOL. XXXII, No. 3  Cover: 1939 Christmas Seal designed by Rockwell Kent.
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Rockwell Kent’s 1939 Christmas Seal
Acclaim and Controversy by Douglas K. Lehmann
1939! In the world of baseball, Ted Williams was beginning his career while Lou Gehrig’s was coming to an end, and the Yanks swept the World Series. Superman and Batman comic strips debuted. The Spanish Civil War ended and World War II began. Nylon stockings, television, and the first air-conditioned car (Packard) were introduced. The movie The Wizard of Oz and the song Beer Barrel Polka were hits. Celebrities of the day included John Wayne, Kate Smith, and Frank Sinatra. In politics, Franklin D. Roosevelt was in his second term as our stamp-collecting President. First class postage was holding at 3 cents, and a dollar was equal in purchasing power to $18 today. Being a 1939 baby myself, I have always been drawn to collecting memorabilia of that year, including copies of Life Magazine and The NY Herald Tribune issues published on my birthday. In the late 1960s, while I was on army duty, I made sure I saw Gone with the Wind in Paris, France (in English with French subtitles), where it had been running continuously since its premier on December 15, 1939. This fascination with 1939 memorabilia culminates in my collecting and specializing in the 1939 Christmas seal. The National Tuburculosis Association (NTA) commissioned Rockwell Kent to design the 1939 Christmas seal. Kent was then at the pinnacle of his artistic career......... OF INTEREST Remembering Rockwell: His Friends Speak Up by Eleanor Robinson LETTERS TO THE EDITOR KENTIANA AT AUCTION KENTIANA FOR SALE |
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