J. Carlos: Jazz Age Brazilian Illustrator

Brazilian illustrator José Carlos de Brito e Cunha (1884-1950) shortened his name to J. Carlos for cartooning and other professional purposes. His English language Wikipedia entry (here) is brief, but the Portuguese entry covers almost exactly the same ground. The message is that he was both versatile and prolific.

I'll add that he also was very, very good.

This post features some of his covers for the weekly magazine Para Todos, which another brief reference holds that he owned and edited for much of its 1920s existence. The title's literal translation is "For All" though perhaps a better, looser version would be "Everybody's" -- also the name of an American magazine published 1899-1929.

All the Para Todos covers I found on the Internet were done by Carlos. But given their quality and on occasion elaborate nature, I almost can't believe that he was able to create a cover every week in addition to his other activities.

Here is a sampling:

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Richard D. Taylor, Big-Eye Cartoonist

It seems that most successful cartoonists settle into a distinctive style and stick with it. Consider it a trademark, form of branding.

Richard Denison Taylor (1902-1970), a Canadian who moved to New York City in 1935 and built a career at The New Yorker and, later, other publications such as Playboy, drew his subjects as having large, oval eyes. Moreover, those ovals were oriented so that they were taller than they were wide. And the pupils of those eyes were usually very large and light-colored (dark brown eyes wouldn't work well under Taylor's conditions).

There isn't much biographical information about Taylor on the Internet, this source being perhaps the best. Examples of his Toronto work are here.

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Lewis Baumer: Cartoonist and All-Rounder

Lewis Baumer (1870-1963) made his career as a cartoonist and book illustrator, but like some of his English contemporaries (I'm thinking of you, Heath Robinson), he was capable of a lot more. That was because he was trained at the Royal Academy of Arts and the Royal College of Art, among other places. Biographical information on him can be found here and here.

I'm not sure that Baumer had the right stuff to succeed doing fine arts painting, and perhaps he came to a similar conclusion. At any rate as early as 1893 his illustrations began appearing in the Pall Mall Gazette, and by 1897 was in Punch, England's leading humor periodical. Besides magazine work, he also illustrated many books -- a list is in the first link, above. By the 1920s, he was doing some portrait painting on the side.

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The Paralysing Fascination of The Latest Step - Punch Almanack - 1922
A cartoon from before the era of the strong punchline.

Etching
Baumer was also an etcher of some skill.

Illustration

The Little Model

Eileen - ca. 1925

Girl in a Red Coat - 1927
This is the largest image I could find.

Noel Streatfeild - ca. 1926
I like this portrait a lot, though can't quite explain why.

Raeburn van Buren: Second-Echelon Cartoonist

Raeburn van Buren (1891-1987) was an illustrator / cartoonist active as a freelancer in the 1920s and 30s until he found steady work drawing the "Abbie an' Slats" comic strip in 1937. As an illustrator, he lacked the skills of the likes of Henry Patrick Raleigh or Frederic Rodrigo (F.R.) Gruger. Nevertheless, his work appeared in major publications such as the Saturday Evening Post as well as elsewhere.

His Wikipedia entry is here and another biography is here. Van Buren was actively cartooning until 1971 and lived to be 96.

I include posts about lesser artists here because, in part, their work helps to put in context that of the best artists. A feeling for their times is also enhanced by being exposed to their interpretations. Van Buren might best be characterized as a journeyman, given the large number of highly talented illustrators active in the 1920s and into the 1950s.

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Football stadium scene - 1920s

Story illustration - 1928

Artist and model

"A blind date about to happen" - 1933

"Deep sea fishing"

"Idols"
For non- English-speaking readers, here we have a religious idol and a movie "idol."

"Is there anything else you wish?" - 1933

"Planning Their Summer"

Some Judge Magazine Covers

This post is part of an occasional series dealing with magazine cover illustration. Here we feature Judge, an American humor magazine published 1881-1947 (Wikipedia entry here). To me, its most interesting covers appeared in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Judge was not a major magazine; circulation was well under that of Saturday Evening Post, Collier's and other general-interest magazine. Nevertheless, Judge did feature cover art by some talented illustrators and cartoonists -- and others who were less so. Here are some examples.

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By Lou May - 17 May, 1924
I think that's the artist's name; the signature is a little hard to read.

By John Held, Jr. - 3 January 1925
Held is considered the archetypical 1920s cartoonist. His highly stylized flappers and friends helped to define that era for many Americans then and later, including me.

By David Robinson - 16 October 1926
A lesser effort.

By an unknown artist
Well, I'd know the artist's name if I could decipher that squiggly little signature. Reader suggestions are appreciated, because it's a cute cartoon, though a bad pun.

By Enoch Bolles - 13 August 1927
Bolles did a lot of cover illustrations in those days. Most of them don't appeal to me, but this is better than most.

By George Eggleston - 28 September 1929
What would cartoonists do without desert islands?

By Ruth Eastman - 21 December 1929

By John Holmgren - 24 January 1931
Nice drawing. I wrote about Holmgren here.

By Gilbert Bundy - August 1933
Bundy's career peaked from the late 1930s into the early 50s, before his suicide.

By Gregor Duncan - June 1937
Could this over-stretched analogy cover be symbolic of Judge's decline?

Vernon Grant: Cartoonist-Illustrator of the 1930s and 40s

Vernon Simeon Plemion Grant (1902-1990), or simply Vernon Grant, as he signed his works, had a long, active career illustrating magazines, books and advertising. Here is his Wikipedia entry and here is a website dedicated to him.

Grant featured a cartoon-like style in his work that was lively and attractive. It was also highly in tune with the times. Yes, there was a Depression and then a war going on during his peak years. But many Americans were happy to seek relief from unpleasant times by viewing escapist movies and gentle cartoon humor, so Grant did well in difficult times.

As for me, I have no problem with his artistic style, given his objectives and assignments. My problem is, ... well, let's take a look.

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Judge magazine cover - 19 March 1932
Grant had a sense of humor that must have appealed to some magazine editors and readers, but it largely eludes me. For most of the images in this post including this one, I can think of possible situational jokes; however, none is smashingly obvious.

Judge magazine cover - December 1935

Rice Krispies breakfast cereal characters - c. 1939
Snap, Crackle and Pop grew out of Grant's frequent usage of gnomes in his other illustration work, as in the Judge cover above.

Collier's magazine cover - 21 September 1940
The cowgirl is carrying a tennis racket and shoes. I have no definite notion what that signifies here.

Collier's magazine cover - 4 October 1941
Okay, I think I get the humor here. It contrasts traditional, dress-up type dancing with the Jitterbug dancing whose popularity was peaking around the time Grant painted this cover. His twist, of course, is cross-pairing the dancing couples -- perhaps parents and teen-age children.

Collier's magazine cover - 10 January 1942
The illustration was surely completed before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. It shows a sailor returning from duty in a warm climate. Not exactly war-related, but Collier's editors must have decided that the cover wasn't worth pulling at the last minute, production times being what they were.

Collier's magazine cover - 19 December 1942
Another sailor, another somewhat opaque joke. For once, it's the girl who has to wait for the date. But why is the sailor sleeping? It would be better if Grant provided a reason.

Collier's magazine cover - 5 August 1944
Grant often used sailors in his wartime illustrations. Here he deigns to feature a couple of Army corporals. But the humor? Are they writing each other? Someone else? Who besides Grant and his editor knows.

Collier's magazine cover - 9 June 1945
I have no clear idea who the head in the crystal ball might be.

Grant in his Rock Hill, South Carolina studio