CAGE THIS MAD BEAST! [Original Hand-Drawn Poster]

np: np, 1959. Very good.. An outstanding example of (presumably) amateur political protest art, depicting the House Un-American Activities Committee as a rabid King Kong on the verge of seizing the helpless damsel Civil Liberties. 1959 was the Committee's 21st year of existence, and it had by then become quite commonplace to condemn the HUAC's extremism, so much so that President Truman, in April of that year, called the committee "the most un-American thing in the country today." Still, it would take sixteen more years for HUAC to be officially abolished. We've been unable to trace the artist, but he (again, we presume) was clearly skilled, striking just the right balance between cartoon and editorial styles. A vivid piece of vernacular propaganda from the early days of the HUAC's decline. Light-brown paper hand-drawn in felt-tip marker; 24" by 18" approx. Evidence of having been hung up at corners: small pieces of tape at upper edge; two chips at bottom; plus 2" tear at center of bottom edge. Shallow creases (folded into eighths). Else clean, if mildly toned. Very good. Signed by an artist ("Vid") and dated in July 1959.