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.
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Romeo and Juliet, December 1939
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The Classics: II. Romeo and Juliet
Peter Arno's Man in the Shower (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944, London: Duckworth, 1976) |
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| The Three Musketeers, January 1940 |
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The Classics: I. The Three Musketeers
Peter Arno's Man in the Shower (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944, London: Duckworth, 1976) |
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| Ivanhoe, February 1940 |
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Ivanhoe
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine
February 1940, p. 80
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| Rip Van Winkle, March 1940 |
 | Robinson Crusoe, April 1940
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"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
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| Don Quixote, May 1940 |
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| The Arabian Nights, June 1940 |
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| Macbeth, July 1940 |
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The Classics: III. Macbeth
Peter Arno's Man in the Shower (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944, London: Duckworth, 1976) |
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| The Count of Monte Cristo, August 1940 |
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| Treasure Island, September 1940 |
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| Silas Marner, October 1940 |
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| Lorna Doone, November 1940 |
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| A Tale of Two Cities, January 1941 |
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| The Virginian, February 1941 |
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| The House of the Seven Gables, March 1941 |
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| Hamlet, April 1941 |
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| The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, May 1941 |
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The Classics: 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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| Moby Dick, June 1941 |
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| Cyrano de Bergerac, July 1941 |
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Cyrano de Bergerac,
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, July 1941, p. 52
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| The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, August 1941 |
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| 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.
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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) |
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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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