Propaganda Postcards of WWII in the Middle East

[Michael Dobbs]

I have received the following enquiry from a member:

[color=maroon]I recently picked up a card which apparently was one of a set of six produced by the SOE in '43[?].
I know that they are mentioned on  https://www.psywar.org/content/postcards but no mention is made of the rarety or otherwise of these cards, I quote:-

"The cards were modeled on a series of six posters that formed a modern-day retelling of scene from the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), the Iranian national epic of over 50,000 rhyming couplets recorded by the tenth-century poet Firdowsi. The Shahnameh contains couplets describing the rise and fall of the mythical tyrant Zahhak; these were used as the basis for a depiction of Hitler's downfall, brought about by the three Allied leaders Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt. In the legend, a patriotic citizen, Kavah, protests Zahhak's usurpation of the throne of Feridun, the legitimate ruler of Persia".

The card I have was sent to the UK by a British nurse with PAIFORCE and records show that her unit was later sent to operate at Belsen just postwar.
I've not come across this type of card before but are they that scarce?[/color]

Access the web link above and scroll down the page until you get to the heading "Kem Postcards".  Have you seen these before - how rare / scarce do you think they are ?  Answers on a (Kem) postcard please !

Many thanks, Mike  :D

[Chris Weddell]

Mike,
       These cards do not have anything to do with the S.O.E.

K.E.M. is the monogram of Kimon Evan Marengo born 1904. Kimon was a cartoonist and caricaturist. In 1939 he was asked by the F.O. to provide ideas for Middle East propaganda. He was then to work for the F.O. with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel to head the K.E.M. Unit to produce Middle east Propaganda material i.e postcards, posters and cartoons. By 1941 he was drawing more then 12 cartoons etc a week. He also worked as a war corespondent for the British and the U.S.

The set of six cards are from late 1943 or early 1944 and were produced after the Tehran Conference which was in early December 1943. The K.E.M. cards are very uncommon but you do see them about stating from about £10 upwards to £60-£100 for the dealer who knows about them. You can find them as most people do not know who K.E.M. was. So look for cards monogrammed with K.E.M. I hope this helps a bit. I do have a watercolor by him of Egypt !!!

I hope this helps Mike.

                                                                 Chris  ;D

[Michael Dobbs]

Chris

Many thanks for your most helpful response - the person making the enquiry purchased the card for £6 so he got a very, very good bargain !

Regards, Mike  ;D