CENSORED "PANIC" COMIC IN 1953,GEORGE FINGOLD,MASSACHUSETTS ATTY GENERAL,1953

Description

1950's "Attorney General and Mrs. George Fingold" printed signature
(NOT SIGNED)
on Christmas Card showing the Massachusetts Statehouse.
on reverse at bottom,  "This card designed and executed especially
for Attorney General and Mrs. George Fingold."
on faux parchment paper   6" x 4 3/4" folded.
FINGOLD IN 1953 BANNED THE FIRST ISSUE OF THE COMIC BOOK
"PANIC" FOR ITS DEPICTION OF SANTA CLAUS BEING DIVORCED.
"PANIC" was published by William Gaines, publisher of the new
comic
"MAD" which then became MAD MAGAZINE.
f-vf    as pictured....
light toning bottom and left edge, front side.
CARD IS COMPLETE.  SCAN DOES NOT SHOW IT...
SCANNED DIAGONALLY ON THE GLASS, FULLY OPENED.
DIDN'T FIT IN.   ALL TEXT SHOWN.
add .50 for 1st class/Insured to U.S....
Was the first issue of EC Comics’
Panic
banned in Massachusetts
for it less than savory depiction Santa Claus and “nice” children?
Speaking of pre-code violence and the company that arguably sparked the comics scare of the 1950s, EC Comics, too, has their own holiday myth.
In light of the success of
Mad
in 1953, EC launched their slightly more mature bi-monthly humor comic
Panic
, which was edited by the famous Al Feldstein. Although there was controversy surrounding the comic from day one, one particular story — a satire of the popular Clement Clark Moore poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” drawn by Will Elder — was a particular sore spot; a sore spot that would ultimately lead to
Panic
#1 being “voluntarily” banned from the state of Massachusetts.
From depictions of animal cadavers (“not a creature was stirring”), to innocents dreaming of busty women (“visions of sugarplums”), to a bumbling, expletive throwing, proudly divorced Santa Claus, all of these things the Massachusetts Attorney General George Fingold saw as “desecration” of Christmas. Due to constitutional law and freedom of speech, Fingold couldn’t outright have the books pulled from the shelves so he called for a “voluntary” ban, encouraging retailers to do the moral thing by refusing to sell the book. And that is just what they did the holiday season of 1953.
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George Fingold
(October 18, 1908 – August 31, 1958) was an American politician from Massachusetts who served as
Attorney General of Massachusetts
from 1953 to 1958.
Fingold's political career began at the age of 21 when he was elected to the
Malden
City Council. He later served as Assistant
District attorney
of
Middlesex County
and as the Commonwealth's Assistant Attorney General in charge of prosecution of racketeers. In 1952, Fingold defeated incumbent Attorney General
Francis E. Kelly
.
[2]
On December 18, 1953 Fingold called for the
Massachusetts Governor's Council
to ban the comic book
Panic
within the state, on the grounds it "desecrated Christmas" depicting the holiday in a "pagan" manner. Under his orders the head of the state police, Captain Joseph Crescio, cut off distribution of
Panic
throughout Massachusetts, and by December 21, the book had been pulled from nearly all the newsstands in the Greater Boston area. Fingold warned distributors who resisted compliance that they would be susceptible to criminal prosecution, although it is unclear what they would've been charged with. Publisher
William M. Gaines
retaliated by announcing that he was permanently withdrawing
Panic
from distribution in the state of Massachusetts and yanking his
Picture Stories From The Bible
from that state (which hadn't been published in over five years). "The idea was, 'If you don't want us, we don't want you,'" explained editor and writer
Al Feldstein
, who said he had felt a "certain literary pride" in having his book banned.
[3]
Fingold died on August 31, 1958 at his home in Concord, Massachusetts. At the time of his death he was a candidate in the Republican primary for
Governor of Massachusetts
.
[2]
In 1960, the
State Library of Massachusetts
was named the George Fingold Library under Chapter 380, Acts of 1960.
[4]