February 2013 | Rebecca Rego Barry

Book Are Weapons

BooksAreWeapons.jpgAn auction of vintage posters at Swann Galleries tomorrow will include this well known and much appreciated poster, "Books Are Weapons in the War of Ideas." This vivid depiction of Nazis burning books was printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1942. The estimate is $400-600; could be a great buy for collectors of the books made and distributed for propaganda purposes during World War II, as discussed in John B. Hench's superb book on the subject, Books As Weapons.