I’ve been doing some research on foreign press coverage of Gamal Abdel Nasser’s trip to Damascus in 1958 and the declaration of the United Arab Republic. It was his first visit to Syria, and before his arrival the Syrians already declared him their new president. I looked in the archives of Time Magazine, which is available and free, including covers, back in the days when Time was, if not more serious, at least better to look at. The catalog of their covers of Nasser:
Sep 26, 1955
Aug 27, 1956
July 28, 1958
Mar 29, 1963
May 16, 1969
Oct 12, 1970
Filed under: Egypt, Media , Gamal Abdel Nasser, Time magazine
i love the March ‘63 cover: Nasser fills a void by replacing the hawkish nose that the Middle East has been missing for some time. If Napoleon is indeed the one who shot it off the sphinx, i feel like some emasculation/penis envy imagery might be playing into this cover, too.
exactly. i hadn’t thought about napoleon and emasculation. but the force of nasser’s nose, reclaiming the sphinx’s lost form, however it was removed. also the unsubtle troika of natives marching below the chin.