Steinberg’s passeport
Autograph presentation inscription accompanied by a small drawing:
“Für Thea & Eric, als kleiner Dank für schöne Stunden von Margrit & Erich. 17. 18. 19. 7. [19]67.”
[“To Thea and Eric, as a small token of thanks for happy times together, from Margrit and Erich. 17, 18 and 19 July 1967.”]
Published the same year as the American edition of The Passport, this collection brings together some of Saul Steinberg’s great graphic themes: passports, stamps, signatures, fingerprints, maps, borders and official documents. Passports, visas and borders were never mere accessories in his work; they were bound up with his own life story.
Born in Romania and trained as an architect in Milan, Steinberg was forced to leave Fascist Italy because of the antisemitic laws. After stopping in Lisbon and Santo Domingo, he was able to reach the United States in 1942 and settled in New York. He rapidly became one of the great artists of The New Yorker, for which he became the reference illustrator, contributing 642 drawings, including 85 covers.