The hypothesis of psychological egoism is a commonplace in disciplines like economics, psychology and biology. As an explanatory model it includes prosocial behaviour such as providing aid for distant strangers. However, philanthropic research has found mixed results regarding the effectiveness of appeals to the self-interest of donors. This article analyses the use of self-interest in appeals for humanitarian aid during the Russian famine of 1921-1923 and points out the need for the systematic inclusion of historical experience in philanthropic research. It concludes that the specific conditions surrounding the international campaign favoured the widespread use of appeals to donors' self-interest. A categorization of such appeals into four groups - national, economic, group-specific, and psychological - is proposed as an analytical tool for similar studies.