Drawing

Title:

Favorite Pastime

Object Name:

Drawing

Object ID:

2002.008.03.27

Creator:

Jordan, Robert (1925-1993)

Place of Origin:

England

Date:

1945

Description:

Drawings of prisoners delousing. Page 27 in sketchbook of Robert Jordan (1925-1993), U.S. Army Air Force, World War II. Pencil on paper. Horizontal rectangle. Depicts prisoners treating their clothes and skin for lice. Titled in pencil, "FAVORITE PASTIME". Captioned in ink, "delousing - not a pleasant thought, but / it wasn't very pleasant having the / little fellows, either." At lower right is drawing of a hand-powered mixer, identified in ink as "Kriegie mixer" [Kriegie = prisoner of war]. The sketchbook documents Sergeant Jordan's experience as a prisoner of war in Germany, including his capture, forced march, and recovery in England.

Material:

Paper

Dimensions:

H-10 W-14.5 inches

Provenance:

Robert Jordan (1925-1993) was a tail gunner when his plane was shot down over Hanover, Germany, on Nov. 26, 1944. He was captured and marched to a prisoner of war camp, Stalag Luft 4. After liberation, he recovered in a hospital in England, where a Red Cross nurse ("Mom") bought him this sketchbook. After the war, he earned degrees from Dartmouth and Columbia, and became a talented landscape painter. In 1952, he bought a farm as a summer home in Eaton, NH, and returned every summer. In 1943, he worked as a cowboy in the Southwest at age 16.

People:

Jordan, Robert (1925-1993)

Subjects:

World War II, Prisoners of war, POW's, Prisoners, Prisons, Air forces, Lice