Books and Art

Mae Murray. On with the Dance. 1920.

Sonia, a Russian dancer, comes to New York seeking her fortune. She marries Peter Derwynt, a young architect, but their marriage is not a good one. Sonia falls under the spell of a rich Broadway mogul, Jimmy Sutherland, whose wife is in love with Peter. The mix of relationships comes crashing apart when Sutherland ends up murdered. 

Crows: An Old Rhyme. Heidi Holder, illustrator. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1987. Illustration each page.

One is for bad news. Two is for mirth. Three is a wedding. Four is a birth. Five is for riches. Six is a thief. Seven is a journey. Eight is for grief. Nine is a secret. Ten is for sorrow. Eleven is for love. Twelve is for joy tomorrow.

Evening Dress Dancing advertisement. Erasmic Soaps and Perfumes For Daintiness & Refinement. Punch or The London Charavarl, UK, January 25, 1922. Illustrated by Lewis Baumer.

Erasmic was a successful soap name introduced by J, Crosfield & Sons in 1889. A seperate company was created for perfumes and named Erasmic and developed a wide range of products. Lalique designed the bottle for De Lui. The business was later acquired by Lever Brothers.

Vanity Fair, January 1928. William Bolin. Illustration of Harlem entertainers.

Guillermo Bolin was Spanish. He was probably with Vogue and Vanity Fair from around 1924 to 1935. Bolin adopted a graphic process more fractured and dynamic but close in style, and spirit to Art Deco adventurousness. Bolin was established in New York. 

Reading map while drinking Pepsi. Advertising artwork for Pepsi (1957). Illustration by Coby Whitmore.

In the early 1950s, Pepsi switched its print ad focus from one using black and white cartoons to a sophisticated campaign using many of the best young illustrators. It’s a credit to this campaign and its artists that the ads from this era still have a fresh, up-to-date appeal and look. Most of these ads could be successfully republished by Pepsi today.

Illustration for Bedtime Stories pulp cover, April 1935. Earle Bergey (American, 1901-1952). 

During the Great Depression newspaper circulations shrank and many illustrators, including Bergey, were finding new opportunities in the New York City pulp magazine industry. His first pulp magazine covers were for the spicy pin-up titles, such as Gay Book, Pep, La Paree, Bedtime, Snappy, and Brief Stories.

Belle with book. Maria Elena Naggi. The Art of the Disney Princess (Disney Editions, October 2009).

Naggi’s take on Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. This richly detailed oil painting illustrated in the book clearly draws its inspiration from Francois Boucher’s Portrait of Madame Pompadour.

Copyright 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Schéhérazade. Ida Rubinstein and Vaslav Nijinsky (1913). George Barbier (French, 1882-1932).

Schéhérazade is a ballet in one act with choreography by Fokine, libretto by Benois, music by Rimsky-Korsakov and design by Bakst. Premiered 4 June 1910 by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes at Paris Opera.

Wake Up, America. Composer: Jack Glogau. Lyricist: George Graff. Illustrator: [Rose symbol]. Leo Feist, New York, 1916.

First Line: Have we forgotten, America.

Refrain: Wake up, America.

Reading in a Formfit. “Life by Formfit” illustration for advertisement. 1949.

“Have you despaired of ever seeing your figure as beautiful as hers? Don’t give up yet! Her figure may be no more perfect than yours. But she has discovered what millions of other lovely women already know-that the look of figure perfection is now possible. Life Bra and Life Girdle by Formfit working together correct your entire figure faultlessly….no matter what your figure faults! The secret is ours!”

Woman plays medieval harp, floral surround. From set Femmes art nouveau (1904). Un Mote a la Poste (Depose). Raphael Tuck & Fils, Editeurs, Paris.

Although the card is titled “medieval harp,” likely it is a later instrument. The Medieval harps tended to be small enough to be held on the player’s lap. They had between 7 to 25 strings and had narrow sound boxes often carved out of a solid log. 

When Verdi Plays the Hurdy Gurdy. Lyricist: Charles McCarron (1891-1919). Composer: Walter Donaldson (1893-1947). Illustrator: De Takacs. Broadway Music, New York, 1916.

First Line: Tony Verdi has a raggy hurdy gurdy.

Refrain: When Verdi, Verdi plays the hurdy gurdy.

Skirts Ahoy. Girl is reading magazine. Wind blows magazine, skirt, sailor hat. Gil Elvgren (American, 1914-1980).

Although best known for his pin-ups, Elvgren’s work for Coca-Cola and others depicted typical normal Americans — ordinary people doing everyday things. The women Elvgren painted were never the femme fatale, the female adventuress, or somebody’s mistress.

Flying Down to Rio (1933) launched the dance team of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. They burst onto the musical screen in this early sound film doing their version of the ‘Carioca.’

A highlight is an incredible sequence — depicted on the movie poster — with dozens of scantily clad showgirls swinging and swaying while strapped onto the wings of biplanes as they fly over Rio de Janeiro.

Hi. Happy Birthday, Niece reading in butterfly chair. Vintage Rust Craft postcard.

Fred Rust opened his Book and Craft Shop in Kansas City in 1906. Along with his brother Donald (mining engineer by vocation) they produced various greetings cards, blotters, calendars and the like.