Wednesday, April 29, 2009
News of Yore 1949: Mandrake Art a Family Affair
Mandrake and Narda Look Like Creators
by Ogden J. Rochelle (E&P, 1/22/49)
Cartoonists often draw heroes (i.e. principal characters) that resemble themselves.
This statement is trite, with varying degrees of accuracy, but it is doubly true in the case of "Mandrake the Magician," drawn for King Features Syndicate by Phil Davis.
Not only can Davis put on silk topper and cloak and pass for Mandrake, but Mrs. Davis can slip into one of the fashionable frocks of Narda, the heroine, and Mandrake fans would see the resemblance.
Mrs. Davis, as a matter of fact, often draws Narda. An artist in her own right, and a fashion illustrator for a St. Louis department store until early in War II, Martha Davis got in the habit of drawing Narda—and sometimes the entire strip — when her husband was working with the Curtiss-Wright Corp., illustrating Air Force manuals.
"Without her help," says Davis, "Mandrake probably would have folded."
Mrs. Davis enjoyed her work on the strip so much she stayed on after the War. Now the couple produce it as a joint effort, but Phil usually does Mandrake and Martha usually does Narda. They work in a studio in downtown St. Louis, move out into the Ozarks in the Summer.
The strip was hatched when Lee Falk, a St. Louis advertising agency executive, asked Davis to draw a dozen panels on a speculative basis. Davis agreed and in 1934 Falk took the idea to New York and sold it. Falk has continued to supply the continuity. Artist and continuity writer are no longer geographically close. Falk, now a New Yorker, spends his summers in Massachusetts, where he is co-owner of Cambridge Summer Theater.
Mandrake is another strip with double-appeal—to the men for adventure action, and to the women because of the accurate modishness of Narda's wardrobe.
Davis denies any resemblance, especially Mandrake's lust for strenuous exercise.
"When I get the desire to exercise," he says, "I just lie down for awhile until it passes."
Labels: News of Yore
Comments:
This article prompts a question from someone who doesn't know much (i.e. me) for someone who really knows (i.e. you) about the art on the Mandrake strip. Davis' dry-brush style artwork on the 1930s strips, especially the Sundays, looks entirely different from the art in most of the run of the strip. The art from the 40s and 50s has a strong style too, but its aggressive lack of drama contrasts so greatly with the earlier work that I wonder: did Davis simply change his style radically, or was the strip ghosted (by Mrs. Davis, maybe?), or what?
Hi Smurf --
Your confidence in my inside knowledge is touching. Misguided but touching. As far as I know Martha was Phil's only assistant, but I certainly haven't made a study of the subject.
I've read very little of Mandrake, but I would love to read more ... perhaps Dean Mullaney will take it into his head to do one of his classy reprints. The very stiff art of the 40s and 50s is oddly appealing to me. But then I love Jay Disbrow's art, too, which most people poo-poo as similarly stiff.
--Allan
Your confidence in my inside knowledge is touching. Misguided but touching. As far as I know Martha was Phil's only assistant, but I certainly haven't made a study of the subject.
I've read very little of Mandrake, but I would love to read more ... perhaps Dean Mullaney will take it into his head to do one of his classy reprints. The very stiff art of the 40s and 50s is oddly appealing to me. But then I love Jay Disbrow's art, too, which most people poo-poo as similarly stiff.
--Allan
It's not in good-ol'-fashioned print, but there's a wonderful resource for "Mandrake" material at http://mandrake-comics.blogspot.com/
One can find 4 different styles for Mandrake by Phil Davis.
In the early strips one find the art quite tense. Then the art soften a bit. After 1938 one find that the figures becomes more slender. From early 40s the panels look more and more ‘frozen’ in time.
The first daily strip was in the papers June 11. 1934, then the first Sunday page from Feb 03. 1935. Reading interviews of Phil Davis he said he did the layout, pencil, ink and letter work in the early years (1934-1938).
During spring 1935 we can see a dramatic change in the art style. PD never told anything about assistants in the early years but it is known that Ray Moore (The Phantom from Feb 17. 1936) started helping PD with some of the ink work. Perhaps about this time ?
For the dailies the last strip signed by PD were Jan 11. 1936. According to Lee Falk (Ciff-Wiff # 12 – 1964) he believe that PD stop signing the strips because ‘he would therefore no longer considered him self as solely responsible for the drawing’.
In 1939 PD said that he had a pen and ink draftsman whom he sublets part of his pen work and another part time worker (Eddie Walcher ?) who did his lettering.
So when did Martha Davis start as assistant on Mandrake ? It is said that she came in when PD did some work for Curtiss-Wright Aircraft Company from 1942 and on. But during 1941 we find several Sunday pages without the signatur of Phil Davis. And the last page I have found with his signature are the one from June 01. 1941. Looking at the dailies from the June 1941 we can find the ‘new MD look’ for Narda. Looking through strips and Sunday pages from 1942-1946 one can find several looking ‘ghosted’ by Martha Davis.
Sorry, a bit bad english, but....
Friendly Peder
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In the early strips one find the art quite tense. Then the art soften a bit. After 1938 one find that the figures becomes more slender. From early 40s the panels look more and more ‘frozen’ in time.
The first daily strip was in the papers June 11. 1934, then the first Sunday page from Feb 03. 1935. Reading interviews of Phil Davis he said he did the layout, pencil, ink and letter work in the early years (1934-1938).
During spring 1935 we can see a dramatic change in the art style. PD never told anything about assistants in the early years but it is known that Ray Moore (The Phantom from Feb 17. 1936) started helping PD with some of the ink work. Perhaps about this time ?
For the dailies the last strip signed by PD were Jan 11. 1936. According to Lee Falk (Ciff-Wiff # 12 – 1964) he believe that PD stop signing the strips because ‘he would therefore no longer considered him self as solely responsible for the drawing’.
In 1939 PD said that he had a pen and ink draftsman whom he sublets part of his pen work and another part time worker (Eddie Walcher ?) who did his lettering.
So when did Martha Davis start as assistant on Mandrake ? It is said that she came in when PD did some work for Curtiss-Wright Aircraft Company from 1942 and on. But during 1941 we find several Sunday pages without the signatur of Phil Davis. And the last page I have found with his signature are the one from June 01. 1941. Looking at the dailies from the June 1941 we can find the ‘new MD look’ for Narda. Looking through strips and Sunday pages from 1942-1946 one can find several looking ‘ghosted’ by Martha Davis.
Sorry, a bit bad english, but....
Friendly Peder
Tuesday, September 08, 2015
Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Walter Quirt
Walter Wellington Quirt was born in Iron River, Michigan, on November 24, 1902, according to the catalog, Walter Quirt, a Retrospective: January 18-February 29, 1980, University Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
The 1910 U.S. Federal Census recorded Quirt as the fifth of six children born to Arthur, a Canadian, and Theresa. His father was a water mill operator. The family resided on Sixth Street in Iron River.
Quirt’s home address was 324 Sixth Street, Iron River in the 1920 census. At age 17, Quirt was a surfaceman at the iron mine. His father was a timber logger.
According to the Retrospective catalog, Quirt studied at the Layton School of Art, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1921 to 1923. The 1922 Milwaukee city directory listed his address at 510 Jackson, and occupation as student. From 1923 to 1924, Quirt was a student-instructor at Layton. Quirt was a full Layton instructor from 1924 to 1928. The 1926 Milwaukee directory said Quirt was a teacher and resided at 88 Knapp.
Quirt’s address was 453 Jefferson in the 1928 directory which included his wife’s name, Martha; the date of their marriage is not known. They divorced in 1939. The Retrospective identified her as Martha Pearse.
From 1926 to 1928, Quirt’s watercolors were exhibited at The Art Institute of Chicago and the New York Watercolor Club. The Retrospective also said Quirt “studied as a guest at the McDowell Colony, Peterboro, New Hampshire, in the summer and fall of 1928 and winter and spring of 1929.”
In Fall 1929 Quirt moved to New York City where he “attended meetings of the newly organized John Reed Club Arts Section.” He became its secretary in 1932 and showed his work at John Reed Club exhibitions.
In the early 1930s, Quirt contributed illustrations and cartoons to the New Masses, and New Pioneer. American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Quirt drew the Jim Martin strip, for the Daily Worker, from August 21, 1933 to January 30, 1934. Howard Newhouse wrote the strip from August 21 to September 7, 1993 with Quirt handling the writing thereafter. Artists on the Left: American Artists and the Communist Movement, 1926–1956 (2002) said “by 1931 [Quirt] was staff artist to the Trade Union Educational League’s paper, Labor Unity.”
Quirt observed Jose Orozco painting murals at Dartmouth, and, in 1934, was a guest at Yaddo Colony.
On October 16, 1935, Quirt was in the WPA/Federal Art Project with a position of artist. Later, he was master artist from March 12, 1936 to May 10, 1938. It was in 1937 that he enrolled in the mural project. Quirt remained with the WPA/FAP through 1942.
In the second half of the 1930s, Quirt was an instructor at American Artists School. He crossed paths with artists Raphael Soyer, Romare Bearden and Salvador Dali. The Julien Levy Gallery, in 1936, held Quirt’s first one-man exhibition. The gallery’s second Quirt show, in 1939, featured his colored drawings.
For the Bellevue Hospital Psychiatric Pavilion, Quirt painted “The Growth of Medicine from Primitive Times” murals in 1937. Quirt’s assistant was Eleanor Falk whom he married in 1939.
The 1940 census recorded Quirt and Eleanor in Manhattan, New York City at 114 Perry Street. An exhibition of Quirt’s tiny paintings was at the Julien Levy Gallery in December 1940.
In the early 1940s, Quirt gave private lessons at his studio. The 1942 and 1944 Manhattan telephone directories listed Quirt’s address as 219 West 14th Street. Quirt exhibited at American Associated Artists Gallery, the Downtown Gallery, Durlacher Brothers Gallery and the Brooklyn Museum.
In 1944, Quirt moved from New York City and returned to the Layton School in Milwaukee. Also that year, his son, Andrew, was born. Quirt was one of over 100 artists who did a portrait of their artist friend Abraham Walkowitz. Twenty-five portraits, including Quirt’s, were published in Life, February 21, 1944.
Quirt moved on, in 1945, to an assistant professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing. The Fall 1947 found assistant professor Quirt teaching at the University of Minnesota where he remained until his death.
From 1945 to 1947, Quirt exhibited at Durlacher Brothers Gallery; the Michigan Artists Exhibition which awarded him the Cranbrook Prize; the Whitney Museum of American Art; and St. Paul Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota.
His son, Peter, was born in 1948.
Throughout the 1940s, Quirt proposed projects to his friend Stuart Davis, who declined Quirt’s overture to teach at Michigan State University.His son, Jonathan, was born in 1952.
In the 1950s Quirt exhibited his work in New York and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1955 he was associate professor in the Art Department at the University of Minnesota.
From 1926 to 1928, Quirt’s watercolors were exhibited at The Art Institute of Chicago and the New York Watercolor Club. The Retrospective also said Quirt “studied as a guest at the McDowell Colony, Peterboro, New Hampshire, in the summer and fall of 1928 and winter and spring of 1929.”
In Fall 1929 Quirt moved to New York City where he “attended meetings of the newly organized John Reed Club Arts Section.” He became its secretary in 1932 and showed his work at John Reed Club exhibitions.
In the early 1930s, Quirt contributed illustrations and cartoons to the New Masses, and New Pioneer. American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Quirt drew the Jim Martin strip, for the Daily Worker, from August 21, 1933 to January 30, 1934. Howard Newhouse wrote the strip from August 21 to September 7, 1993 with Quirt handling the writing thereafter. Artists on the Left: American Artists and the Communist Movement, 1926–1956 (2002) said “by 1931 [Quirt] was staff artist to the Trade Union Educational League’s paper, Labor Unity.”
Quirt observed Jose Orozco painting murals at Dartmouth, and, in 1934, was a guest at Yaddo Colony.
On October 16, 1935, Quirt was in the WPA/Federal Art Project with a position of artist. Later, he was master artist from March 12, 1936 to May 10, 1938. It was in 1937 that he enrolled in the mural project. Quirt remained with the WPA/FAP through 1942.
In the second half of the 1930s, Quirt was an instructor at American Artists School. He crossed paths with artists Raphael Soyer, Romare Bearden and Salvador Dali. The Julien Levy Gallery, in 1936, held Quirt’s first one-man exhibition. The gallery’s second Quirt show, in 1939, featured his colored drawings.
For the Bellevue Hospital Psychiatric Pavilion, Quirt painted “The Growth of Medicine from Primitive Times” murals in 1937. Quirt’s assistant was Eleanor Falk whom he married in 1939.
The 1940 census recorded Quirt and Eleanor in Manhattan, New York City at 114 Perry Street. An exhibition of Quirt’s tiny paintings was at the Julien Levy Gallery in December 1940.
In the early 1940s, Quirt gave private lessons at his studio. The 1942 and 1944 Manhattan telephone directories listed Quirt’s address as 219 West 14th Street. Quirt exhibited at American Associated Artists Gallery, the Downtown Gallery, Durlacher Brothers Gallery and the Brooklyn Museum.
In 1944, Quirt moved from New York City and returned to the Layton School in Milwaukee. Also that year, his son, Andrew, was born. Quirt was one of over 100 artists who did a portrait of their artist friend Abraham Walkowitz. Twenty-five portraits, including Quirt’s, were published in Life, February 21, 1944.
Quirt moved on, in 1945, to an assistant professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing. The Fall 1947 found assistant professor Quirt teaching at the University of Minnesota where he remained until his death.
From 1945 to 1947, Quirt exhibited at Durlacher Brothers Gallery; the Michigan Artists Exhibition which awarded him the Cranbrook Prize; the Whitney Museum of American Art; and St. Paul Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota.
His son, Peter, was born in 1948.
Throughout the 1940s, Quirt proposed projects to his friend Stuart Davis, who declined Quirt’s overture to teach at Michigan State University.His son, Jonathan, was born in 1952.
In the 1950s Quirt exhibited his work in New York and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1955 he was associate professor in the Art Department at the University of Minnesota.
Quirt passed away March 19, 1968, in Minneapolis. The cause was lung cancer.
—Alex Jay
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Otho Cushing
In the 1875 Rhode Island State Census, Cushing’s paternal grandfather, George W. Cushing, was the head of the household. Cushing was the second of three sons born to Harry and Martha. His father was in the U.S. Army. They resided in the town of Warren on Washington Street.
The Cushing household was recorded, in the 1880 census, in Providence, Rhode Island at 5 George Street. Information regarding his childhood schooling has not been found; in Life magazine, he said: “…In my boyhood I was hurried from post to post, from North Carolina to Alaska.” He graduated from the Bulkeley School in New London, Connecticut in 1887, according to a listing on page 19 of the 1888–89 school catalogue.
Cushing said his art studies began “…in Boston at the Art Museum and later at the Academie Julien, under Constant and Laurens.” On December 16, 1891 he applied for a passport while in Paris. Earlier he had departed from the U.S. on October 7, 1891. He intended to return within three years while he took time to travel. His description was five feet eight-and-a-half inches with hazel eyes and brown hair. A passenger list at Ancestry.com said he arrived in New York, from France, on May 16, 1892. Painter was his profession. At some point he went back to Europe and returned, as a student, to Boston in September 1893.
Sometime after his return, he was an assistant in freehand drawing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The MIT Annual Report of the President and Treasurer, December 12, 1894, said Cushing and others “…have terminated their connection with the Institute.” The school’s yearbook, Technique 1895, listed him as an instructor.
The Boston Herald (Massachusetts), May 12, 1895, noted his flair for dancing:
Mr. Otho Cushing, so well known here, and Miss Augusta Hunter gave a Spanish dance at the big society entertainment in Newport on Tuesday night for charity which brought down the fashionable house.And the December 17, 1899 edition said:
Mr. Otho Cushing, formerly of Boston, brought down the house at every performance of “The Lady from Chicago,” given by the “Stroller” in the Astoria ballroom last week, by his dancing with Miss Emily Hoffman. It could not have been excelled on any professional stage. Mr. Cushing made almost as much of sensation as he did by his appearance in the historically correct, but rather realistic and airy, costume of a 14th century court falconer at the famous Bradley-Martin ball.The Herald reported Cushing’s first exhibition on July 31, 1895:
Boston figured prominently at an art reception given yesterday at the Deblois cottage by Maj. H.C. Cushing, U.S.A., formerly of Boston, and now one of the assistants to Col. Warring in the street cleaning department in New York, and Mrs. Cushing, in honor of their son, Otho Cushing, a rising young artist, who exhibited his pictures for the first time. Mr. Cushing showed portraits of his father and mother, Miss Mary L Barnard and Miss Gretchen Welch of Boston, Miss Bradhurst and H. Archie Pell of New York, Count Longay of Buda Pesth, Baroness Danckelman of Vienna, Miss Jessie Hunter and Mrs. George H. Norman of this city, Mrs. T. Owen Berry of Asheville, N.C., and O.W. Budd, U.S.A. The portraits were universally admired by those who viewed them, including many of the summer residents and army and navy officers and their wives.Cushing’s signature was one of over 100 on the “Belfield Table Scarf.” His signature is at “nine o’clock.”
Six drawings by Cushing were published in Life’s Comedy (1898). He contributed a drawing to Corks & Curls (University of Virginia, 1899) which appeared on page 34.
The 1900 census recorded artist Cushing, his parents and two servants in New Rochelle, New York on Wild Cliff street. A March 8, 1901 passport application in Athens, Greece, showed that Cushing departed the U.S. on February 14, 1901. He intended to do further traveling for two months.
Brush and Pencil, February 1903, devoted five pages on Cushing’s drawings. For the New York Herald he produced several panels: Marriage a la Mode a Century or Two After Hogarth, November 8, 1903 to January 24, 1904; A Week End Party, January 24 to February 26, 1905; When Diana Came to New York, April 23 to July 2, 1905; and The Evolution of Mrs. Newgold, August 27 to October 8, 1905.
The New York Times, October 15, 1942, said Cushing went to Paris and was art editor of the European edition of the New York Herald. His panel, The Owl, the Maid, and the Boy, for the European edition was reprinted in the February 21, 1904 stateside edition.
After his work for the New York Herald, Cushing joined the staff of Life magazine. His cartoons of President Theodore Roosevelt, parodying the adventures of Ulysses, were collected and published as The Teddyssey in 1907.
The 1910 census recorded Cushing, a magazine illustrator, his widow mother and younger brother, Nicholas, in New Rochelle at 18 Neptune Place. Cushing’s father had passed away July 2, 1902, according to the New York Herald. The 1915 New York State Census recorded the Cushings at the same address. About a quarter mile away, on Mt. Tom Road, were the illustrators Frank and J.C. Leyendecker. In the 1918 New Rochelle City Directory, Cushing’s address was 4 Harbor Lane.
During World War I, the Times said Cushing served “…overseas as an Army Air Corps captain, supervising the camouflaging of American airfields on the Western Front.” HIs name was listed in Aerial Age Weekly, March 24, 1919, and Air Service Information Circular, June 5, 1920.
Cushing has not yet been found in the 1920 census. His residence remained unchanged according to the 1929 directory. The 1930 census recorded Cushing, his mother and brother in Manhattan, New York City at 117 West 58th Street, where they rented an apartment. Sometime before 1940, his mother passed away. Cushing and his brother had returned to their New Rochelle home according to the 1940 census.
Cushing passed away October 13, 1942 according to the Times. The obituary in the New York Sun, October 15, 1942 said:
Funeral services for Otho Cushing, artist and cartoonist, will be conducted at 2:15 P.M. tomorrow at the George T. Davis Memorial, 14 Le Count Place, New Rochelle. Mr. Cushing died on Tuesday [October 13] in New Rochelle Hospital. He lived at 4 Harbor Lane in New Rochelle and was 71 years old.
Mr. Cushing was best known for his work in the old Life magazine. He drew humorous drawings of persons in ancient Greek costume and did a series of cartoons on the activities of President Theodore Roosevelt. In recent years he devoted his time principally to water colors, many of them on historical subjects.
He was born at Fort McHenry, Md., a son of the late Major Harry Cooke Cushing and Mrs. Martha Wetherill Budd Cushing.
He studied at the Boston School of Fine Arts and the Julian Academy in Paris, and served for many years as a professor of drawing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining the staff of Life. In the world war he was made a captain in the Army Air Corps.
Surviving is a brother, Nicholas Cooke Cushing of New Rochelle, a naval architect in New York.—Alex Jay
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Thursday, January 02, 2020
Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Flloyd Triggs
1893
Flloyd Willding Triggs was born on March 1, 1869 or 1871 or 1872 in Winnebago, Illinois. Triggs’ gravestone has the year 1869. The Catalogue of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity had the birth year 1871. The American Art Annual (1913) had the year 1872. Most publications spelled Triggs’ first name with one L. A family tree at Ancestry.com said his parents were Matthew W. Triggs and Martha Jane Davis.
The 1875 Minnesota census said Triggs was the youngest of four children whose father was born in England. The family resided in Lodi, Mower County.
The 1880 U.S. Federal Census counted the Triggs family in Rock Falls, Illinois. Triggs’ father was a minister.
According to the 1885 Minnesota census, the Triggs were back in Lodi. Apparently Triggs finished high school there and continued his education at the University of Minnesota. Triggs graduated in 1893 and provided the illustrations for the school yearbook, The Gopher. The American Art Annual said Triggs studied at the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Mower County Transcript (Lansing, Minnesota), January 13, 1897, published this item: “Spring Valley Vidette: Mr. Floyd W. Triggs, the Chicago Daily News cartoonist, is enjoying a furlough at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. M.H. Triggs, of this city.”
In the 1900 census, Triggs lived with James Collins, an author, in Vernon, Illinois.
During 1902 Triggs provided stories and art to Metropolitan Magazine and the New York Press newspaper.
New York Press 7/27/1902
1904
Printers’ Ink, May 27, 1903, published Triggs’ article, The Art of “Playing Up”.
The Connecticut Marriage Record, at Ancestry.com, said Triggs married on July 31, 1903 in Darien. The family tree had his wife’s full name, Effie Gertrude Overly.
The Connecticut Marriage Record, at Ancestry.com, said Triggs married on July 31, 1903 in Darien. The family tree had his wife’s full name, Effie Gertrude Overly.
Triggs completed the 1917 Connecticut military census form on February 15. The artist said he lived in Darien. His height was five feet four-and-a-half inches and weight 110 pounds. He had three dependents. He could ride a horse and drive an automobile but not a motorcycle.
American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Triggs produced The Busyville Bees from May 28, 1910 to December 16, 1918. M.L. Baum did the writing from the start to September 26, 1914. The series appeared in the Christian Science Monitor.
The Bridgeport Times (Connecticut), December 17, 1918, reported the jury summons for two murder cases. Triggs was named as a juror.
Triggs passed away August 23, 1919, in Stamford, Connecticut. He was laid to rest at Spring Grove Cemetery in Darien, Connecticut. His death was reported in several newspapers and some of them said he worked at the Chicago Tribune, but no information has been found supporting it. Triggs did work at the Minneapolis Tribune and Chicago Daily News. An obituary appeared in the New Britain Herald (Connecticut), August 25, 1919.
Stamford, Aug. 25.—Floyd Wilding Triggs, a cartoonist, died here suddenly Saturday night. His home was in Darien but he was staying in this city temporarily. Mr. Triggs was 47 years old, a graduate of the University of Minnesota and the Chicago Art Institute, and formerly was a cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune. He made his home in Darien in 1903 and was connected with newspapers in New York city and Boston. Mrs. Triggs and two sons survive.Another death notice was published in American Art News, September 13, 1919.
Floyd Wilding Triggs, artist and cartoonist died at Stamford, Conn., Aug. 23 last, aged 47. He is survived by a widow and two sons, was a graduate of the University of Minnesota and had been connected with the Chicago Art Institute. He was a cartoonist on the Chicago Daily News previous to coming to Darien, Conn., in 1903. Later he did cartoon work for the N.Y. “Press,” and the “Christian Science Monitor.”
Triggs’ fraternity mentioned his passing in The Shield of Phi Kappa Psi, October 1919.
Floyd Wilding Triggs, Minn. Beta ’90, the well-known artist and cartoonist, died suddenly in Stamford, Conn., August 23, 1919. He was born in Winnebago, Ill., March 1, 1872. He was graduated from the University of Minnesota and the Chicago Art Institute. He has successively been cartoonist for the Chicago Daily News, New York Press and Christian Science Monitor.
—Alex Jay
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Munson Paddock
Judge 8/11/1917
Munson Paddock was born in Racine, Wisconsin, on January 22, 1886, according to his World War II draft card. A family tree at Ancestry.com said his middle name was Leroy. His middle name or initial were not used in the census and military records.
In the 1900 United States Census, Paddock was the oldest of four children. His mother, Isabella, was the head of the household. The family resided in Salem, Kenosha County, Wisconsin. His father, Munson, a lawyer, passed away February 8, 1900, four months before the census enumeration. (An obituary was published on page seven of Kenosha’s Telegraph-Courier, February 15, 1900.) The family tree said Paddock’s paternal grandmother was Martha Cecelia Munson who was married to Francis Paddock. According to Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 Paddock used several pen names including Cecelia Munson and Cecilia Munson.
Some information about Paddock comes from the Lake Forest College Library Archives and Special Collections which used as its source, Munson Paddock — A Life by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr.
The 1903 Kenosha city directory listed Paddock as a student residing at 611 Prairie Avenue.
The Telegraph-Courier (Kenosha, Wisconsin), June 25, 1903, reviewed the Kenosha High School annual and said
... Kenosha artists drew the pictures for the annual and the work of Munson Paddock and Roy Donley in the artistic line is worthy of more than passing mention. The pictures contributed by Paddock to the book are a reminder of the clever work of Gibson while the comic sketches and etchings by Donley are filled with subtle humor. ...... The annual portion of the book is introduced by a splendid drawing by Munson Paddock which forms the frontispiece. ...
At some point, Paddock moved to Chicago. He participated in the Newspaper Cartoonists’ and Artists’ Association Annual Exhibits of 1905 and 1906 at the Art Institute. Vadeboncoeur said Paddock had a 1906 address at the Chicago Daily News.
Soon, Paddock relocated to New York City where he drew a handful of comic strips. American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Paddock’s first comic strip was Mr. Bluff which began October 26, 1907. Following it were Wisdom of Wiseheimer, debuting November 9, 1907, and Little Miss Thoughtful, starting February 8, 1908. All were for the New York Evening Telegram. For the New York Herald, Paddock produced Angelic Angelina which first appeared March 22, 1908. (Publishers’ Weekly, January 29, 1910, said Angelina was issued as a publication.) Paddock’s last strip was Naughty Ned, running from April 4 to June 20, 1909, for the North American Syndicate.
Paddock was a contributor to several periodicals including Sis Hopkin’s Own Book and Magazine of Fun, Judge’s Library and Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly, December 9, 1909.
The Telegraph-Courier, November 4, 1909, said Paddock visited his mother.
According to the 1910 census, freelance artist Paddock was in Manhattan, New York City at 466 West 23rd Street. The 1912 and 1913 New York City directories said Paddock was a designer whose residence was at 406 West 44th Street. He was not listed in directories from 1914 to 1917.
Paddock married Marguerite Noble on April 14, 1917 in Manhattan.
Paddock named her as his nearest relative on his World War I draft card which he signed September 23, 1918. The couple lived in Manhattan at 112 West 11th Street, top apartment. On the occupation line was written: “Commercial Draftsman (Mail Order) Free Lance— 31 Union Sq N.Y.C. N.Y.” Paddock’s description was tall, medium build with blue eyes and dark brown hair.
R. L. Polk & Co.’s 1918–19 Trow New York Copartnership and Corporation Directory, Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx had this listing: “Paddoch-Horton Studios (RTN) [Registered Trade Name] (Munson Paddock & Аlbert Horton). 41 Union sq W R1101”.
Paddock’s address did not change in the 1920 census. He was a freelance commercial artist.
R. L. Polk & Co.’s 1921 Trow New York Copartnership and Corporation Directory, Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx said Paddock-Horton Studios were located at 223 West 33rd Street. The New York Evening Post, September 5, 1923, reported the Studios’ new address: “Duross Company leased the top floor of 252 West 14th St. to the Paddock Horton Studios for a term of years…” The partners were involved in a legal matter according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 4, 1923: “Munson Paddock and Albert Horton vs. The Wright Company, Inc. Judgment affirmed.”
The 1930 census listed Paddock, but not his wife, in Manhattan at 320 East 42nd Street. His occupation was freelance advertising artist.
The New York Times, April 14, 1931, noted the following business lease: “Harry Michaels and Munson Paddock, commercial artists, in 100 West Forty-second Street”.
Who’s Who said Paddock contributed to several comic books beginning in the mid-1930s. He also worked at a few comic art studios. Some of Paddock’s comic book credits and pen names are here. A Mars Mason story is here. According to Who’s Who, some of Paddock’s pen names were used by some publishers as house names.
Paddock was mistaken as a woman named “Cecilia Paddock Munson” in A Century of Women Cartoonists (1993; see pages 62 and 70) and The Great Women Cartoonists (2001; pages 55 and 63). The mistake was repeated in the Animation Journal, Volume 2, 1993, Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics (1998) and Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas (2014).
The 1940 census recorded unemployed Paddock alone at 301 Lilac Lane in Carlstadt, New Jersey. His highest level of education was the eighth grade.
On April 25, 1942, Paddock signed his World War II draft card. He resided with Verona, probably a relative. (His younger sister was Ramona.) They lived at 301 Lilac Lane in Carlstadt, New Jersey. Fifty-six year old Paddock was described as six feet, 155 pounds, with blue eyes and gray hair. He was unemployed.
A Pennsylvania death certificate said Paddock’s wife, Marguerite, passed away February 1, 1949 in Athens, Pennsylvania. The Evening Times (Sayre, Pennsylvania), February 2, 1949, published an obituary.
Mrs. Paddock, Dies in Athens, Fashion ArtistMrs. Paddock Dies in Athens, Fashion Artist Mrs. Marguerite Noble Paddock, 62, of 623 South Main Street, Athens died suddenly last night at her home at 8 o’clock following a heart attack.Well known in art circles, Mrs. Paddock and her husband, Munson Paddock, were engaged in fashion drawing in New York City for several years. She was a Towanda native.Mrs. Paddock, a graduate of Cooper Union, the New York School of Art and the Art Students’ league, came to Athens about nine years ago. While in this community, she was interested mostly in portraiture.She is survived by her husband, Munson Paddock, a sister, Miss Kate Noble, at home and several cousins.The funeral will he held at the convenience of the family, and burial will be in Oak Hill cemetery, Towanda.
Paddock has not yet been found in the 1950 census.
Find a Grave said Paddock passed away June 14, 1970. The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pennsylvania), June 16, 1970, noted Paddock’s funeral.
Funeral services were held this morning for Munson R. [sic] Paddock, 84, of 222 Speece, Sunbury, from the Davis funeral home, Northumberland, with Father John W. Kline, pastor of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Sunbury, in charge. Burial was in Riverview cemetery, Northcumberland.
(An earlier profile was posted in 2016.)
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Comments:
The address Munson paddock that for Sunbury is probably SPeece ave.there is no stress street in Sunbury. Also while sorting through some clipped failed from the 70 s I found some Lancelot strips that were retitled Lance. Based on the ads on the back of them I suspect that they were clipped from the Susquehanna valley gazette. A paper that was published three days week and carried the nea strips.
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