When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Today for sale we have a scarce 1971 dinner program from a Cold War event with a story behind the paper. The cover is hand lettered in printed script with two crossed ping pong paddles, one blue with the white sun of the Republic of China and one red printed with a hammer and sickle ringed in barbed wire, above the motto Freedom versus Slavery. The text reads that the U.S. March for Victory Committee honors The Christian Ping Pong Team of the Republic of China on the occasion of their tour of the U.S. for Freedom, at 8 PM, September 10, 1971, at the Indian Spring Country Club in Silver Spring, Maryland.
The historical setting gives this piece real weight. In April of 1971 the American table tennis team traveled to Communist China in what the world came to call Ping Pong Diplomacy, the opening move toward Nixon's visit and the normalization of relations with Peking. The fundamentalist minister and broadcaster Carl McIntire, president of the International Council of Christian Churches and organizer of the March for Victory rallies, answered by bringing a table tennis team from Nationalist China on a counter tour of the United States. The maneuver reached the highest levels of diplomacy. State Department records of the Paris channel talks show the Chinese ambassador raising McIntire and the U.S. March for Victory by name, objecting to a team from the Chiang Kai shek government touring America and asking that Washington put a stop to the effort so that exchanges could proceed. This program comes from that very tour.
The interior opens to a full program under the banner Human Freedom Versus Human Slavery. Richard C. Curry, Esquire, Vice President and Treasurer of Faith Theological Seminary, served as Master of Ceremonies. The blessing was given by the Reverend Dr. James T. Shaw, Director of International Christian Relief. The evening included America and the Chinese National Anthem, salutations by Dr. Samuel Cheng, President of the Republic of China Council of Christian Churches, the song Home Town by Hwa Lu performed by soprano Mrs. Chang S. Liu, remarks titled A Victorious Tour by the Reverend Ennio Cugini of Rhode Island, the Reverend Mel Perry of Tennessee, and Mrs. Harold Wilber of Illinois, The Holy City by Stephen Adams played by trumpeter Miss Beverly Buffington, the presentation of trophies to the Ping Pong Team of the Republic of China by Mr. Glenn Rogers, National Chairman of International Christian Youth USA, the Monologue Di Gerard by U. Giordano sung by baritone Dr. Fague Springmann, an address titled Crucifying Freedom by the Reverend Dr. Carl McIntire, the hymn Our God, Our Help, and the benediction by the Reverend Jack Weisenfeld, General Secretary of the Independent Board for Presbyterian Home Missions.
The facing panel carries the full banquet menu, opening with Orange Cup Ambrosia, celery, mixed olives, radishes and carrot curls, then Sauteed Breast of Capon Almondine, broccoli with hollandaise, saffron rice, mixed garden salad with water chestnuts and cherry tomato, assorted breads, pineapple tart, and coffee, tea, and milk. Printed below the menu are quotations from Daniel Webster on liberty dated June 3, 1834, and from Chiang Kai shek at Taipei dated July 2, 1964, warning that neutralization is a prelude to Communization. The back panel carries a quotation from James Madison at the Virginia Convention of June 16, 1788, on the gradual encroachment of those in power, and a line from General Douglas MacArthur at the Republican National Convention of July 7, 1952, on the will to win a war, followed by four stanzas of the Isaac Watts hymn Our God, Our Help in Ages Past drawn from Psalm 90, and a closing note of appreciation to all who helped honor the visiting team.
Printed on heavy laid cream stock with a pebbled finish. Condition is very good for age, with light overall toning, a few small scattered spots of age foxing to the interior panels, faint handling wear to the edges, and no tears, no writing, and no folds beyond the original center crease. A remarkable survivor from a footnote of Cold War history that reached the desks of American and Chinese diplomats, and a natural fit for collectors of Ping Pong Diplomacy, table tennis history, Taiwan and Republic of China material, anti Communist and Cold War ephemera, American religious broadcasting, or Maryland event programs. Please study all photos closely, as they form part of the description and show the true condition.
~SOLD IN THE USA!!!!~+~GREAT FOR COLLECTORS OR LOCAL PRESERVATION~+~WORLDWIDE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING~+~FAST SHIPPING~+~SHORT HANDLING TIME~+~EXPERIENCED IN PACKAGING~+~60 DAYS FOR RETURN & REFUND IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND~+~SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT FROM MYSELF AND SUPPORT/GUARANTEED POLICIES~+~I CARE ABOUT EACH OF MY CUSTOMERS! I WILL ALWAYS DO MY BEST TO ENSURE THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TIMELY SHIPPING WITH 60 DAY REFUNDS ETC.... IM ALWAYS RECEIVING NEW INVENTORY ON CONSIGNMENT....I LIST ITEMS DAILY.... AND PLAN TO INCREASE MY LISTINGS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.... IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN COMBINED SHIPPING I WILL ALWAYS DO SO! CONSIDER SAVING MY PAGE TO BE UPDATED WHEN I'VE MADE NEW LISTINGS~+~PLEASE DON'T HESITATE WITH ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS!~+~I WILL SHIP WORLDWIDE. BASED FROM 50311.~+~ WILL SHIP TO THE FOLLOWING U.S. STATES:AK, AL, AR, AS, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, GU, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MP, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UM, UT, VA, VI, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY
~THANK YOU!!!~
