In the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog of the Library of Congress, there is a curious photo, an early 20th century image with the handwritten names of four individuals in costume. Two of them are dressed as monks. For me, the person of interest here is
Rea Irvin, the illustrator who worked notably for the old
Life magazine and for
The New Yorker, where he was the magazine's first art editor.
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| Rea Irvin, The New Yorker, February 21, 1925 |
Over the years, Irvin created a great many covers for The New Yorker, although he is best known for the cover of the first issue featuring the dandy Eustace Tilley, a cover which has been
making repeat appearances on most anniversary issues since. This photograph, if the Library of Congress is correct, was taken most likely a decade or more before that first issue of The New Yorker hit the newsstands. Can the century-old handwriting on the photo be trusted? Is the standing monk on the right side of this photo
indeed the prolific and talented Rea Irvin?
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Mrs. J. W. Teague, J. D. Brophy, C. G. Norris, Rea Irvin
Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
Bain News Service, C. 1910-1915
George Grantham Bain Collection
|
Well, I don't think there's any doubt. The 1933 Gallery of Comic-Strip Artists from
Fortune magazine a couple of decades later has a picture of Irvin along with seven other cartoonists. Irvin was included in this list because he created a comic strip called
The Smythes. Comparing his face in both photos, he appears to have the same serious demeanor and concentrated gaze.
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Milt Gross, Rea Irvin, H. T. Webster, Sidney Smith,
Percy Crosby, Billy DeBeck, Cliff Sterrett, George McManus.
"A Gallery of Comic-Strip Artists," Fortune, 1933
|
According to the Library of Congress, the image is on a glass
negative from the Bain News Service circa 1910 to 1915. It is a part of
the George Grantham Bain collection in the Library of Congress. Was this ever published? What made it newsworthy? The right side of the image seems to have sustained some damage, giving the two monks an ethereal look.
All of this begs the question, of course, of just what is going on in this
photograph. This image apparently was taken at a costume party. Of note, the Library of Congress has a total of
seven photos from this event. One
of them is of particular interest, as it has a Mrs. J. M. Flagg, whom I
take to be the first wife of the great illustrator James Montgomery
Flagg. It seems likely therefore that Flagg himself was in attendance, and this was before he created his famous "I Want You" poster.
How did it come about that two great early twentieth century illustrators
may both have been present at this remarkable costume party? How well did they know
each other? Was this affair in some way a publisher's event? Or did both illustrators move about in the circles of high society?
Take a look at the photo from the same costume party that includes Mrs. J. M. Flagg in attendance:
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Mrs. C. H. Wright, Mrs. Chas. Ebert, Mrs. R. Beckwith, Mrs. J. M. Flagg, Mrs. H. G. Dart
C. A. Gilbert, H. G. Dart
Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
Bain News Service, C. 1910-1915
George Grantham Bain Collection
|
The Library of Congress photos also appear on
flickr. There flickr user
Wystan noted the presence of Rea Irvin 35 months ago and identified the party as one in New York City in January of 1914. He also
noted the presence of illustrator James Montgomery Flagg.
Here Wystan has linked to the following announcement from
The New York Times issue of January 4, 1914:
Note the presence of Mrs. Charles Dana Gibson, wife of the famous illustrator who created the Gibson Girl. So what we have is the possibility of three major illustrators at a preeminent Prewar society benefit. I would caution, though, that this is an annual charity event, so I'm not absolutely certain that the 1914 announcement from the
Times refers to the same year's costume ball as seen in the photos. In fact, I can't match any of the names in the photos with those in the
Times announcement. It is also possible that there were several other elaborate costume parties over the six year time period from which these photos reportedly date.
Information from the Library of Congress website:
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Mrs. J. W. Teague, J. D. Brophy, C. G. Norris, Rea Irvin
Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
Bain News Service, C. 1910-1915
George Grantham Bain Collection
|
Note: It is certainly possible that some reader may recognize another name from this costume party and be able to make an interesting connection or even a conjecture. I'd love to learn more about this event if anybody can piece any of the clues together.
Does anyone know of an earlier photograph of Rea Irvin than this one?
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