In the wake of the successful serial publication of Edgar Rice Burroughs first published stories, the Chicago publishing house A. C. McClurg and Company produced Burroughs’ first Tarzan story, Tarzan of the Apes. The dust jacket for this seminal Tarzan book was illustrated by Fred J.

If there could be musical accompaniment to an illustration, this one would clearly begin in a low register and sound like, dun dun da dunnnn—the sequence of notes that might have filled the void during a frightening scene of a suspense movie. What a terrific illustration—it conveys sound, stealth, and

The great A.B. Frost (1851-1928) drew a story about a man who wanted to learn hypnotism. At one point, the man foolishly decides to practice on his wife:

UnsignedAult & Wiborg Printing Inks, c. 1900 Advertising illustration for The Ault & Wiborg Co. In 1878 the Ault & Wiborg Company was established in Cincinnati, Ohio specializing in manufacturing printing inks, dry color dyes, and pigments.  In the mid-19th century English and German chemists began experimenting with creating colorants derived from coal-tar chemicals.  So

Louis Biedermann (1874-1957) The New Broadway—The Street That Knows No Night [Looking Down Broadway and Seventh Avenue from Long Acre Square—Forty-fourth Street] Cover illustration for The World Sunday Magazine (November 5, 1899) In the 19th century, Longacre Square (aka, Long Acre) in New York City was the center of the community’s carriage-making

  Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) And the Symbol of Welcome is Light, 1920 Advertising illustration for Mazda Edison Company* Oil on canvas Collection of General Electric Lighting Company,Cleveland,Ohio Recently in the New York Times (Sunday, January 8, 2012) there was an article about how a variety of American cities are ripping out or turning off some of their street lights, primarily

“One Hundred Years Hence” | No more Droughts. Rainmaking machines at work | Trading Cards “Compliments of Maher & Grosh Cutlery Co.” Toledo, Ohio “One Hundred Years Hence” | Roofed cities fine weather insured. | Trading Cards “Compliments of Maher & Grosh Cutlery Co.” Toledo, Ohio The endings of things also cause us to anticipate

It’s Christmas morning, the family’s youngest child has opened her presents and discovered the wonderful things tucked into the stocking carefully hung from the bedpost at the foot of her bed. While we can see in this Kodak advertisement that she has a new doll, a book, and a shinny brass

Mills Thompson (1875-1944) Miss Frances Benjamin Johnston, 1332 V St., Washington, D.C., makes a living of photographic illustration and the writing of descriptive articles for magazines, illustrated weeklies and newspapers, 1895 Poster illustration advertising Frances Benjamin Johnston’s photographic business Ink on paper Cabinet of American Illustration in the Library of Congress Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864-1962)

“It can’t be done,” 1927| Bill Jones motivational card| The Parker-Holladay Company, Chicago. In the 21st century there is a company that produces demotivational posters we may hang on our walls to remind us to laugh at the complexities of our world. Their mottos include, “GOALS: It’s best to avoid standing directly