1940s Spanish Foreign Legion – El Tercio Military Propaganda and Ration Sheets
DESCRIPTION
Bold recruitment slogans and vivid marching soldiers make this six-sheet Spanish Foreign Legion group one of the most visually arresting in the collection.
The illustrations celebrate El Tercio de la Legión, the Spanish Foreign Legion, a professional military force established in 1920 and closely associated with the Nationalist military tradition. One sheet depicts the Legion’s emblem and invokes Alejandro Farnesio and Juan de Austria; others proclaim “Viva el Tercio de la Legión,” “Alístate al Tercio de la Legión,” and “Vencer o Morir.” A particularly memorable design declares that Legionnaires do not die but gather in hell, illustrating soldiers drinking and celebrating in a macabre scene. Together, the designs combine military ceremony, recruitment imagery, bravado, and dark humor.
Spanish food rationing began in 1939, following the Civil War, and continued until 1952. Ration coupons were issued by local authorities and relief organizations to regulate the distribution of scarce food supplies. Printed in perforated sheets, each coupon specified a particular food item or quantity and entitled its holder to purchase that allowance at an officially regulated price. Merchants collected or invalidated the coupons when the food was distributed. The surviving coupon designs reference communities and aid programs including Cáceres, Salamanca, Ceuta, Vera (Almería), and La Riba (Tarragona).
The associated food coupons name communities including Albuquerque in Badajoz, Montánchez, Elche, Lleida, and Sagunto, with printed dates from the early 1940s. The combination of highly theatrical military artwork and ordinary food vouchers makes a revealing contrast between official martial ideals and civilian austerity.
CONDITION
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