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1959 Passal and John F. Kennedy Map of the United States as a Nation of Immigrants
ANationofImmigrants-kennedypassal-1958$1,100.00
Title
A Nation of Immigrants.
1958 (dated) 16.5 x 21.5 in (41.91 x 54.61 cm) 1 : 10000000
1958 (dated) 16.5 x 21.5 in (41.91 x 54.61 cm) 1 : 10000000
Description
A fine example of Daniela Passal's 1958 map of the United States published to illustrate the Anti-Defamation League's first edition issue of John F. Kennedy's essay A Nation of Immigrants. The map highlights Kennedy's impassioned defense of immigration rights and reform. It is accompanied by the first publication of the iconic essay by the Anti-Defamation League.
A Closer Look
The map celebrates American cultural and racial diversity by highlighting immigration. While it admittedly highlights European immigration, we also see nods to Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Cuban, Lebanese, Iranian, and Syrian immigrant communities. American Indians are referenced in the Southwest. Some critics have criticized the map for whitewashing antebellum slavery (literally) as the only person picking cotton in the South is white. Nonetheless, in a nod to African Americans, a lone Black American in Alabama plays jazz.A Nation of Immigrants
John F. Kennedy's essay A Nation of Immigrants highlights the significant contributions of immigrants to the United States. The essay was originally published by the Anti-Defemation League in 1958 when Kennedy was a Massachusetts senator. That version also contained a map of the same title by Daniela Passal. In 1964, after Kennedy's 1963 assassination, a book version was published. The book argues that America's strength and character have been shaped for the better by the diversity of those who have come to its shores seeking freedom and opportunity. Kennedy emphasized the importance of fair and humane immigration policies, advocating for an immigration system that reflects America's values of equality and inclusivity. A Nation of Immigrants remains a seminal work in discussions about immigration policy, celebrated for its vision of America as a beacon of hope and a land of opportunity.Publication History and Census
This map was published only in the 1958-59 Anti-Defamation League issue of Kennedy's A Nation of Immigrants - which is included in this sale. It was drawn by Daniella Passal. The lower right bears the printing stamp of the Amalgamated Lithographers of America (ALA). Scarce. We see examples at the University of Minnesota, the University of Michigan, and the Boston Public Library Leventhal Center. Most are dated 1963-64, reflecting the posthumous republication of Kennedy's essay, which we believe to be an error as regards the map.CartographerS
Daniela Dinah Passal (March 20, 1932 - May 12, 2005) was a Polish-Israeli artist active in New York and Israel in the mid-20th century. Passal studied at the New Bezalel Art School, Jerusalem, from 1952-1955, before moving to New York in 1961 to work with the Art Students League. In this same year she married Elias Gechman. She is associated with one map, a pictorial piece issued in 1959 to illustrate John F. Kennedy's A Nation of Immigrants. Passal petitioned for U.S Naturalization in 1969 as Daniela Passal-Gechman. She appears to have lived both in New York and in Ein Karem, just outside of Jerusalem, Israel. More by this mapmaker...
Amalgamated Lithographers of America (1915 - present) is a union, formed from several preexisting unions dating back to 1886. Local unions for lithographers began to appear in the 1850s, but a national-level organization did not exist until the 1880s (the Lithographers' International Protective and Beneficial Association of the United States and Canada, an offshoot of the Knights of Labor). But this and other unions found only limited success, in part because they did not admit lesser-skilled workers in the printing process, such as press feeders. Thus, in 1915 the Amalgamated Lithographers of America was formed from a combination of four existing unions, with two others joining later. The organization has gone through several mergers and reorganizations since, but still exists today. Learn More...
Condition
Excellent.
References
Boston Public Library, Leventhal Center, G3701.E27 1959 .P37. OCLC 696103488.