Name/Title
“V-E Day” Patriotic [Cover]Description
Colored cachet by Lannie Smith commemorating “V-E Day / Proclaimed by / Truman, Churchill, and Stalin. / All Europe freed from Nazi Tyranny.” Pictures are the flags of the Overrun Countries Series to pay tribute to twelve countries overrun and occupied by the Nazis. The countries honored are Denmark, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Norway, Luxembourg, Albania, Greece, Austria, Netherlands, and France.Context
As they went about their daily tasks, Texans on the home front gathered around their radios, eagerly read the daily news, watched newsreels at local movie houses and studied maps of foreign countries to learn the latest about the war overseas. Lannie Smith, of Port Neches, was the oldest of a large family, with five brothers and three sisters. He had a watch making and repair business in Houston and at one time returned to the family home in San Augustine after losing a leg in an accident. During World War II, Lannie produced a limited set of patriotic covers - most with maps or important war events. His artwork is unique with hand painted color on top of printed black and white design. This cover commemorates Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day), the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official end of World War II in Europe in the Eastern Front, with the last known shots fired on 11 May.