The Second Independence Day of the State of Israel – Official Poster – 1950

The Second Independence Day of the State of Israel – Official Poster – 1950

Official poster published for the second Independence Day of the State of Israel. Governmental Printer, 1950. Design: Miriam Troop (signed in the plate).
Poster for the second Independence Day of the State of Israel, dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the War of Independence – emblem of the State of Israel, through which two dark red flowers are reflected.
This poster is considered the rarest among the Independence Day posters. The couple of red flowers in its center are the first "Dam Hamakabim" flowers – the Israeli flowers of bereavement, whose Hebrew name "Dam Hamakabim" (literally "Blood of the Maccabees") derives from a legend about a flower that grows wherever a drop of blood of the Maccabees was spilt (shortly thereafter, the name of these flowers was changed to "Dmumit" and the name "Dam Hamakabim" was given to a different flower (Red Everlasting).
The poster was designed by Miriam Troop (1917-2016), a designer and book illustrator, born in the USA. After World War II, she travelled through various countries, creating drawings of children (published in her book "Children Around the World"; New York, 1946). Presumably, Troop lived in Israel for several years during the early years of the State and during this time designed this poster.
Approx. 67.5X97.5 cm. Good condition. Fold lines and creases. Several restored tears along edges. Tape on bottom (concealing some of the printer's details). Tape and several abrasions to verso.
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.

The Independence Day Poster of the State of Israel was a special poster published once a year for the Independence Day celebrations of the State of Israel. The posters were chosen by a special committee of artists and intellectuals (including Bezalel Schatz, Yitzchak Danziger, Dan ben Amotz and others), from proposals submitted anonymously by Israeli designers. The winners of the competition were declared a few weeks before Independence Day and the posters they had designed decorated the country that year. In the first decades of the State, the posters gained a unique status in Israeli culture and their design was considered an extraordinary achievement for an Israeli designer. The designers included Yohanan Simon, Pal Kor, the Shamir Brothers, David Tartakover, Jean David and others. The last Independence Day Poster was issued in 2018.