Ben Simms's Copy of The Pious Friends and Drunken Companions by Frank Shay and John Held, Jr.

A savvy book publisher, perhaps struggling during the Great Depression, who wanted to capitalize on two popular volumes, My Pious Friends and Drunken Companions (1927) and More Pious Friends and Drunken  Companions (1928), both written by Frank Shay with illustrations by John Held, Jr., could simply reissue the pair together, say in 1936, as an omnibus volume. All that would be needed is a new title for the compendium—something unimaginative like The Pious Friends and Drunken Companions might even work. This new edition could be promoted with a book signing or two featuring that quintessential illustrator, Held, whose work so well embodied the Roaring Twenties but who may have had some time to spare in the 1930s.

Held added to one Ben Simms's copy of the book an unflattering self-portrait. He gave himself three chins and a rather pruny complexion. Cartoonists!

As I have previously noted, The Rumrunner's Sister-in-Law is Held's very first New Yorker woodcut, published in the issue of April 11, 1925. You remember, page 5.

At post time, the book is still available from Sequitur Books of Boonsboro. That's not a non sequitur.

John Held, Jr.
AbeBooks listing accessed September 27, 2024

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31897489881&searchurl=attrs%3Dsgnd%26ds%3D30%26kn%3DJohn%2BHeld%2BJr%26p%3D1%26rollup%3Don%26sgnd%3Don%26sortby%3D17%26sp%3D0%26spo%3D30&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-image29

Note:  I have never before seen a book in which John Held, Jr., left his signature, let alone a drawing. I would hope there are other examples to which my pious friends and drunken companions could introduce me.

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