1944.08.06 “Tokyo Guide”
by Charles (Chas) Edward Allen (1921 – 1999)
11 x 13 in., ink on paper
Coppola Collection
Charles Allen (1921-1999) was an African American cartoonist and teacher working in New York City during the 1940s through the 1960s. Allen grew up in Americus, Georgia and was the youngest of nine children. Before 1935, the Allen family moved to New York City. He received an art degree and a BS degree in social science from the College of the City of New York. Allen drew “Tan Topics” for Continental Features. The panel began in the Atlanta World on August 23, 1943, and ran for several years. Beginning in 1955, Allen was the cartooning instructor at the School of Industrial Art in Manhattan, New York City. The school was renamed the High School of Art and Design in 1960. Two of Allen’s colleagues were Alvin Hollingsworth and Bernard Krigstein, and his students included Ralph Bakshi (1956), Neal Adams (1959) and Art Spiegelman (1965). Allen’s last year at the school was 1968.
By early August 1944, the most recent (and one of the most told) assassination attempts on Hitler, the Valkyrie event, was known to the world. Commentary about the internal strife within the Nazi regime was commonplace.
NY Times, August 6, 1944, Section E, Page 3 : POLITICAL FERMENT STILL AT WORK IN GERMANY; Plot Against Hitler Is Looked Upon as An Episode in a Continuing Process
The cartoon by Allen does not have a caption and is indicated to have been in the NY Times. Hitler has emptied his closet and packed his bags, hung up his uniform, and dreams of a vacation retreat in Tokyo. The date stamp and Allen’s address are on the back.
