Showing posts with label Illustration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Illustration. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Peter Arno Illustrates Munro Leaf Condensed Classics in The American Magazine

They're called "streamlined samples of the world's best stories," and they appeared in The American Magazine over twenty-one installments from December 1939 to September 1941. They're humorous rehashings of classic literary works that, because they each appeared on a single magazine page, aren't quite substitutes for reading one's full high school english assignments. The celebrated author of these condensed classics is Munro Leaf, who created Ferdinand the Bull. The celebrated illustrator is Peter Arno, who needs no introduction here.


Two weeks ago I speculated that a couple of original Arno illustrations from, apparently, The American Magazine—they were Ivanhoe and Cyrano de Bergerac—might be related to a page I once posted of an abbreviated version of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. I went on to suggest that they might also be related to four Arno illustrations of "Classics" from his 1944 collection Man in the Shower. I figured it might well take ages to track everything down.


Yet I heard on that very day from Jeff Nelson, one of those contributors who somehow provides me with what I need even when I don't know what I need. Once upon a time, it seems, he had scanned what is likely the entire run of this nearly impossible-to-find series and would I care to have a look-see? Yes, please.


And just like that, here they are—all of them, most probably. I have presented Jeff's scans in chronological order adding original art from the archives when available, and including four of the illustrations as they were reproduced in Man in the Shower. Jeff didn't scan the full text of Robinson Crusoe, but fortunately that's the one page I have available in the archives. So here it is, a post I thought could never be done just two weeks ago.

Romeo and Juliet, December 1939

The Classics:  II. Romeo and Juliet
Peter Arno's Man in the Shower (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944, London: Duckworth, 1976)



The Three Musketeers, January 1940

The Classics:  I. The Three Musketeers
Peter Arno's Man in the Shower (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944, London: Duckworth, 1976)


Ivanhoe, February 1940

Ivanhoe
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine
February 1940, p. 80


Rip Van Winkle, March 1940

Robinson Crusoe, April 1940

"There were some wild goats around, but you can't make a wild goat draw to an inside straight." 
—Munro Leaf
Peter Arno
                             Robinson Crusoe, April 1940, p. 60

Don Quixote, May 1940

The Arabian Nights, June 1940

Macbeth, July 1940

The Classics:  III. Macbeth
Peter Arno's Man in the Shower (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944, London: Duckworth, 1976)

The Count of Monte Cristo, August 1940

Treasure Island, September 1940

Silas Marner, October 1940

Lorna Doone, November 1940

A Tale of Two Cities, January 1941

The Virginian, February 1941

The House of the Seven Gables, March 1941

Hamlet, April 1941

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, May 1941

The Classics:  IV. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Peter Arno's Man in the Shower (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944, London: Duckworth, 1976)


Moby Dick, June 1941

Cyrano de Bergerac, July 1941

Cyrano de Bergerac, 
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, July 1941, p. 52

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, August 1941

Captains Courageous, September 1941






Note:  My thanks to Jeff Nelson, without whom Munro Leaf and Peter Arno's collaboration almost eighty-five years ago might have remained lost to posterity.

I'm so glad I could include two of the original illustrations. Where then are the nineteen Arno originals I did not get to post here? As depictions of well-known literary classics, I'd think they're quite desirable. My guess is they're mostly hidden away in private collections. If there's one of these that happens to be in your collection, why not get in touch with me and share a good photograph? Come on, people, Jeff can't do everything.


The Classics:  I. The Three Musketeers
II. Romeo and Juliet
Peter Arno's Man in the Shower (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944, London: Duckworth, 1976)

The Classics:  III. Macbeth
IV. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Peter Arno's Man in the Shower (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944, London: Duckworth, 1976)




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Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Blog Post No. 4700: Peter Arno's Rebecca and the Wounded Ivanhoe

In finding herself once more by the side of Ivanhoe, Rebecca was astonished at the keen sensation of pleasure which she experienced, even at a time when all around them both was danger, if not despair.
Ivanhoe
—Sir Walter Scott
 


Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe was published in December of 1819. In Chapter 29, Rebecca, the Jewish daughter of Isaac of York, tends to the wounded Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe after his injury in a tournament. Through the castle room's window she sees a violent battle raging just outside as the castle is stormed and, aghast, she relates what she sees to the bedridden knight.


But cartoonist Peter Arno's illustration of the scene is a lighthearted take on the adventure, with a smiling Ivanhoe appearing to be well on his way to recovery thanks to the gentle ministrations of Rebecca. Whatever fierce battle may be raging about the castle walls, there is no indication of it in this serene rendering.

Ivanhoe
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, February 1940, p. 80

According to a fraying label on the back, the drawing was published in a February issue of The American Magazine. The original art came recently to eBay from the estate of American painter Harry Shoulberg (1903-1995).




Ivanhoe
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, February 1940, p. 80


Arno's illustration is related in style and subject matter to his depiction of Cyrano de Bergerac, which came to light at auction late last year. The levity of the piece may very well link it to a humorous series of one-page condensed classics written by Munro Leaf (of Ferdinand the Bull renown) that were illustrated by Arno. These include Robinson Crusoe, the only full example we've seen in these pages. There are also four atypical Arno drawings in his 1944 collection Man in the Shower, illustrations of literary classics that just might be part of this selfsame series. This is all a conjecture at this point but, I hope, not an unreasonable one.



Peter Arno's signature

Ivanhoe
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, February 1940, p. 80


Ivanhoe
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, February 1940, p. 80

Peter Arno's signature




Peter Arno
eBay listing ended May 18, 2024

Peter Arno
eBay item description







After a lowball best offer of $250 was refused, the seller's less lowball counteroffer of $400 was accepted.


Eugène Delacroix handled the same subject back in 1823, just four years after the novel's publication. Today his painting is hanging at the Met. Like most artists who depict the scene, Delacroix focuses on Rebecca describing the battle to Ivanhoe, just as Scott did.



August 5, 2024 Update:  I have added the publication history in The American Magazine for February 1940 to the images of the original art. Here's the published page:
Ivanhoe, February 1940
Scan courtesy of Jeff Nelson



Note:  Anyone with access to printed magazine illustrations of major literary works by Peter Arno, or original art of the same ilk, please get in touch.


The Attempted Bloggery Centennial Posts 💯
Blog Post No. 100
Blog Post No. 200:  A Shaggy Dog Story



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