“Stamp Him Out with a Defense Stamp!” (June 5, 1941)
By Jack Markow (1905-1983)
15 x 19 in., ink and wash on paper

Markow was an American cartoonist who also wrote instructional books about cartooning, comic strips and comic art. For three years, he was the cartoon editor of “Argosy.” His high school drawings landed him a job doing layouts and paste-ups in the sales promotion department of the
Fleishmann Yeast Company. He later studied drawing and painting at the Art Students League. Markow was one of the first faculty members at New York’s School of Visual Arts, where he originated the magazine cartooning course and taught for eight years. He wrote a popular book named “Drawing and Selling Cartoons.”

Before entry into the war, defense savings bonds and stamps, which were used during WW1, made their reappearance in mid-1941. Banks, post offices, and retail stores held “stamp days” that were organized by local clubs. College campuses were popular sites for the distribution of stamp books, where individual stamps started with the investment of a dime.