I don’t know exactly when it switched over. Maybe 75 years ago? A century? I’m not in the mood for much research today, so I’ll just wing it. Many, many years ago, artists decided they didn’t want to make art anymore. They started making blobs and splotches and women with their nose on the side of their heads. Luckily for us, illustrators took up the slack. There’s more art in a pinup calendar than a modern art museum. Among the many things I’m grateful for today, illustrators like Leyendecker are right up there. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
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Happy Thanksgiving, Sip. Remember, don’t make snow angels in the dog yard.
One of the few actual treasures that I lost in a fire in 1983 was an original Scribner & Sons edition of Jules Verne’s “Mysterious Island” with the color plates by N.C. Wyeth.
In the past few years I found a very nice used-copy reproduction of that book, and have expanded to include a few of the rest of the Scribner editions with Wyeth’s color plates and line-drawing illustrations. “Treasure Island”, “Westward Ho”, and others. Fun reading, and beautiful color plates. The newer reproduction versions of these have better reproductions of the color plates, in many instances taken from the original paintings whose owners heartily endorsed the project of newly-mastered color plates.
I own very few things that others might consider valuable any more. The one fine rifle, an original Marlin Model 39 that I found rusting in a friend’s basement was donated to the Buffalo Bill Firearms Museum in Cody, WY (a great reason for a road trip).
Here’s hoping you and your family enjoy a happy Thanksgiving.
Dear Sippican:
Just a note to say “Thank You” for your time and insights, but most importantly for trying to keep my mind working!