Mimeographed pamphlet with by the Artists' International, titled '18 cartoons | Why we are marching!', produced in support of the NUWM National Hunger March against the National Insurance Bill, 1934.

An important piece of British social history, this is an excessively scarce item, with no record whatsoever on Copac, WorldCat or the web. It derives from the papers of the anthropologist J. H. Driberg, whose wife Pearl Binder (later Lady Elwyn Jones) was a member of the Artists' International. It is a 4to pamphlet of 35 pp., of which 21pp. are in 4to, and 14pp. in smaller formats. Each page is mimeographed on one side of a leaf. Stapled into orange wraps, the cover carrying a striking silkscreened semi-abstract design of a crowd of marching men and women, with '18 cartoons' in the top left-hand corner and 'WHY WE ARE MARCHING!' at the foot. Rusting of the single staple has caused the pamphlet to become detached from the wraps, with the final few pages loose; otherwise internally in good condition on aged paper, with slight wear and a couple of short closed tears to the worn wraps. The 18 cartoons are all 4to, and are interleaved with 14pp. of polemical typed text (see below for headings) on slips of varying sizes. Of the seventeen typed pages, only three are full 4to: the first page titled 'WHY WE ARE FIGHTING!', and at the end, an essay 'OUR DEMANDS! and a page of publication details, reading: 'THE ARTISTS' INTERNATIONAL, which produced this book, was founded during September 1933. | The Artists' International stands for the International unity of artists against Fascism, against Imperialist war, and against war on the Soviet Union, and for the United Front of artists with the working class against all capitalist oppression. | We invite all professional, commercial, and worker artist [sic] to join our organisation. | The Secretary, 65 Marchmont Street, W.C.1. | Terminus 3969.' The Artists' International (later the Artists' International Association) was founded in 1933. The present item is its contribution to the National Hunger Strike of 1934, organised by the National Unemployed Workers' Movement (a Communist Party of Great Britain offshoot). The headings on the fourteen slips are: 'Medical evidence of starvation'; 'Age of entry to the scheme'; 'Defendants' benefit'; 'Benefit period'; 'Unable to obtain suitable employment'; 'When is a person unemployed?'; 'Trades disputes section'; 'Exhausted statutory benefit'; 'Appeals to the umpire'; 'Forced labour conditions'; 'Voluntary leaving employment of discharge for misconduct'; 'Training and instruction for young workers'; 'It is a fascist scheme'; 'What is to be done?' The pamphlet states, in the 'What is to be done?' section: 'Workers are marching through the towns and villages of this country down to the great National Congress to be held in London on February 24th, so that the whole country can be aroused to kill this Bill and to strike a deadly blow against capitalism.' The Artists' International was formed in London in 1933 as a fellow-travelling organisation, as a result of discussions between Pearl Binder, Clifford Rowe, Misha Black, James Fitton, James Boswell, James Holland and Edward Ardizzone. The present item dates from its earliest period: the few months before it was reconstituted as the Artists' International Association in 1935, with its first large show 'Artists Against Fascism and War'. While the cartoons in this pamphlet are clearly by a number of different artists with various styles and approaches, only four of the pieces are signed ('TG', 'Pl.', 'P' and 'Rowe'), the aim of the group being to promote the cause rather than the individual. One unsigned cartoon ('Ladies and gents! The working classes will now go through the hoop.') is strongly in the style of Ardizzone. The group abandoned its original objectives in 1953, continuing to 1971 as an exhibiting society. For more information see T. Rickaby, 'The Artists' International' (in Block, no. 1, 1979); R. Radford, Art for a purpose. The Artist's International Association 1933-1953 (Winchester, 1987) and R. Radford and L. Morris, 'A.I.A.: Story of the Artists' International Association,1933-53 (Oxford, 1983).