Today we have a treasure from Harry, an “Illustrated News Monthly” dated June 7, 1939 from Istanbul. Helene mentions receiving one of his illustrated letters in her letter of March 8 1940. This is the only example I have of these letters. Perhaps inspired by his mother’s love of language, her father’s newspaper, and his own cartooning ability, it seems that Harry sent these to relatives on a somewhat regular basis.
Harry labels this as the “New York Edition” so he must have sent it to Helene’s nephew’s Paul Zerzawy who had arrived in the U.S. in April of 1939 and was trying to find work and make a life in New York.
Harry packs in a huge amount of information and sense of place in two brief pages. 15-year old Harry includes 2 self-portraits showing how much he’s changed in a few short months, growing both leaner (from walking constantly around Istanbul) and taller. He gives a travelogue including “photos” of the sights and teaches some Turkish language. His humor and sense of fun shine throughout.
Below are three photos taken several months apart. The first is his first Turkish passport photo to enter Istanbul, I believe the second is his passport photo from the summer, August and the third was taken on board the S.S. Rex in October 1939 as he and Eva made their way to the U.S.
