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Hand-illustrated cover
Object Details
- Description
- The postal stationery airmail envelope (UC3), reviewed and marked by censor (#31527), was sent to New York from APO 926 (Morotai, Moluccas, Netherlands East Indies). The self-portrait watercolor by Corporal Jack Fogarty offsets Mary MacDonald’s address. Surrounded by palm trees, Fogarty cups his head in his hands with a look of disappointment that is reinforced by the caption, "Yeah -- but where's Dorothy Lamour?" The actress and singer was known for films of the 1930s and 1940s set in exotic, tropical locales, but Fogarty’s deployment to the South Pacific shared little in common with one of Lamour’s Hollywood movies.
- Jack Fogarty served with the US Army’s 98th Evacuation Hospital during World War II. While working in the hospital’s administrative office, Corporal Jack Fogarty (later promoted to Sergeant) struck up a life-long friendship with Chief Warrant Officer John MacDonald and his wife, Mary. Jack and John both wrote regularly to Mary as the war took them to the Pacific Theater. John MacDonald also served as a censor for the unit, and the illustrated covers by Jack Fogarty bear MacDonald’s censor stamp and signature. In his correspondence with Mary, Jack filled the envelopes with scenes in watercolors, ink, and pencil. The illustrated covers show Jack’s life at the Desert Training Center in Yuma, Arizona, and his overseas service in New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan. In addition to illustrating his personal correspondence, Jack contributed artwork to the 98th Evacuation Hospital’s newsletter, The Bulletin. After the war, Fogarty’s artistic career took him into acting and his prolific correspondence with friends sometimes included illustrations.
- References:
- Fogarty, John. Little Boy-Short Trousers-Eaton Cap: This I Remember. AuthorHouse, 2005.
- Data Source
- National Postal Museum
- Date
- c. 1944
- Object number
- 2012.2006.4
- Type
- Covers & Associated Letters
- Medium
- paper; ink; watercolor
- Dimensions
- Height x Width: 3 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. (9.6 x 17.2 cm)
- Place of Destination
- New York
- See more items in
- National Postal Museum Collection
- Title
- Scott Catalogue USA UC3
- Topic
- World War II (1939-1945)
- Covers & Letters
- Record ID
- npm_2012.2006.4
- Usage
- Usage conditions apply
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