“Model Three Masted Ship”

During the 1920s and ’30s, J.F. Kernan (1878-1958) illustrated nearly 30 Post covers. Some, such as this beautiful 1927 cover, depicted the seaside or old sailors. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Joseph Francis Kernan attended the Eric Pape School of Art in Boston and later taught at the school before embarking on his art career.

“Hunter and Spaniel”

His art featured, as he described it, “the human side of outdoor sports, hunting, fishing, and dogs.”

His work also appeared on covers of major magazines of the time, including The Country Gentleman, Outdoor Life, and Collier’s Liberty. His art varied from the picturesque to wry comic situations.

“Baseball Batter”

Baseball was not a mere spectator sport for Kernan. He helped finance his art education for a period of time as a professional baseball player.

“ 1926 Fisk Tire Ad”

Like most illustrators of this era, Kernan did artwork for ads. Also with a baseball theme is this ad from 1926 for Fisk Tires, although, instead of a pro batter, we have a couple of boys about to get in trouble for watching a game through a peephole instead of paying admission—not an uncommon theme for the 1920s.

“Private Letter”

Another theme illustrators enjoyed was the nosy post office worker (or neighbor or party-line sharer). This one is from 1920.

Two years later Norman Rockwell did this Post cover of a nosy postal clerk.

“Women Must Give Their Ages”

The Rockwell resemblance appears in Kernan’s Country Gentleman covers. CG was a sister publication to the Post for many years.

In this cover it is 1922, and one supposes there must be a downside to women getting the vote.

“Tying on a Fly”

From humor back to his outdoorsman passions, one of Kernan’s finest works is this fisherman tying a fly from 1929. The color palette is subtle but stunning, and the rippling water looks good enough to jump into.

Bobbing for Apples by J.C. Leyendecker

Before there were Rockwell covers, there was the great J.C. Leyendecker (a mentor to Rockwell). Leyendecker dressed up these adorable tykes for a neighborhood Halloween party in 1913—apple bobbing and all. This cuteness is quite the contrast with his Halloween cover ten years later (below).

Witches Night Out by J.C. Leyendecker

A creepy witch on a chilly, windy night – and a full harvest moon to illuminate her. Looking at her creepy face (sorry, lady), it is a little difficult to remember that this is the same artist famous for that rakishly handsome, chiseled-featured Arrow Shirt man and the slinky, elegant ladies and gentlemen in the 1920s Kuppenheimer clothing advertisements.

Halloween Fiddler by Norman Rockwell

A rarely seen Norman Rockwell cover from 1921 shows a fiddler at a Halloween get-together. It must be a lively tune, judging by the way he’s keeping time with a high-stepping foot. Rockwell did 36 covers for the Post’s sister publication, The Country Gentleman.

Lighting the Pumpkin by Eugene Iverd

This charming cover is from 1934. These kids are ready, dressed in their Halloween best and lighting a giant jack-o’-lantern. Artist Eugene Iverd did many of our best covers of children – see Artist Eugene Iverd’s World of Children, here.

Halloween, 1926 by Edgar Franklin Wittmack

This well-dressed young man is regretting going to that Halloween party – there is something very scary out there! This creepy cover is from 1926.

Witch’s Mask by Charles Kaiser

In this 1942 cover by artist Charles Kaiser, a little girl is frightened by the view of this witch’s mask through the window – which begs the question: was the witch winking before?

“Geese in Formation Over Marsh” by Paul Bransom

This 1930 cover by artist Paul Bransom (1885-1979) is a striking example of art found in The Country Gentleman magazine, a sister publication to The Saturday Evening Post for many decades. In fact, the Post launched the career of Bransom as a well-known wildlife illustrator with the purchase of some of his paintings for 1907 covers. We will have a feature on this artist soon.

“Missouri Moon” by E.P. Couse

Not all of the art was on the covers. Like The Saturday Evening Post, The Country Gentleman magazine featured works of fiction. This beautiful illustration by E.P. Couse was in the September 1942 issue. The story was “Missouri Moon” by MacKinlay Kantor and deals with a Native American threat on the plains. The caption reads, “These ladies and gentlemen are forting up, m’sieur. You shall remain until all danger is gone.”

“Dog with Pheasant” by J.F. Kernan

American illustrator J.F. Kernan’s wonderful art graced most major publication of the 1920s-’30s—The Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, Outdoor Life, and, of course, The Country Gentleman among them. This beautiful cover is from November 1934.

“Flower Bouquet” by Kay

Again, browsing inside the magazine, we found a section called “Country Gentlewoman” where the rural ladies had their say. This gem was in a 1940 article called “A Home-Grown Thanksgiving Dinner” where it was suggested that “a house bright with flowers, autumn leaves, and colorful fruits sets the stage for a happy day.” The artist signature is simply “Kay.”

“Lady on a Stool” by Manning De V. Lee

I couldn’t resist this stylish lady illustrating a September 1936 article called, “The Good Things Autumn Brings.” “Here is the quince,” the author writes, “greenish in color, hard, dry, and quite inedible when raw. But after preserving, it becomes reddish amber in color and has a flavor that only a quince preserve can have. It seems that nothing less than magic could make such a change. What happened to turn the inedible quince into a delicious preserve?”

“Boy Stealing Apples” by J.F. Kernan

A 1923 cover by J.F. Kernan shows another one of “the good things autumn brings”—a harvest of sweet, ripe apples! The only problem is the boy ignored the “No Trespassing” sign, and the farmer is raring for justice.

“Harvest Moon” by Phil Lyford

Speaking of harvest, there is nothing like a bright harvest moon hanging low in the sky. This October 1934 cover by artist Phil Lyford shows that springtime is not the only season for romance.

Snowy Ambush – John Falter

Having a hard day at the office isn’t bad enough. The man in artist John Falter’s January 1959 cover seems to be entering a sort of demilitarized zone. The troops are entrenched (see the little heads behind the snow banks?) and ready to fire. The stash of snowballs shows they have enough ammo to last awhile. You have to wonder how the man gets out of this one.

Snowball Fight – J.F. Kernan

Never mind the neighborhood kids – watch out for the old guys! I love the ornery gleam in grandpa’s eyes as he hones in on his target. This cover is from 1930 by artist J.F. Kernan.

Plowed-Over Driveway – Earl Mayen

Okay, stop us if you’ve heard this before: a man arduously shovels his driveway, then along comes a snowplow… On artist Earl Mayan’s December 1954 cover, just such a scene ensues as the motorist attempts to back out, and is he steamed! If only some of that steam could melt snow…

Boy Shoveling Snow – Charles A MacLellen

It’s hard enough to shovel a sidewalk without dodging snowballs. In this cover of January 1912, the boy is probably debating dropping the shovel and firing back. Give a hard-working boy a break!

Snow Shoveler Ringing Doorbell – Eugene Iverd

An enterprising young man (and dog) is ringing doorbells on artist Eugene Iverd’s January 1931 cover. The snowfall seems to have brought about a budding business enterprise. If you know someone looking for prints of boys doing all their boy things, look up artist Eugene Iverd at curtispublishing.com – great covers!

Shoveling Floral Shop Sidewalk –John Falter

The weather outside is frightful, but inside the flower shop it is spring! Artist John Falter did a beautiful painting of contrasts for the February 28, 1948 cover. Inside are the pinks, yellows and reds of blossoms; outside is dirty old New York snow. The poor policeman on the beat looks miserably frozen, but maybe the shop window is to give us hope. The snow can’t last forever, right?

Turkey Loose Atop Truck by Constantin Alajalov

“When I wanted to sketch turkeys as they look in a crate,” said cover artist Constantin Alajalov, “I found a wholesaler who sells a lot of them. For the turkey on the lam…he said, ‘Take your pick’. Every time I started to sketch a model, somebody bought it and bang, it was a dead bird. I began to feel like an assassin.” Our artist got the delightful Thanksgiving cover done, but said, “For Thanksgiving I may skip turkey…and have hamburger that I’m sure I don’t know, socially.”

Squawking Turkey by Tony Sarg

This youngster managed to catch the turkey, but now what? The boy with arms full of squawking fowl is from 1915.

Cousin Reginald Catches the Thanksgiving Turkey by Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell painted a lad he called Cousin Reginald, a city slicker. As we’ve shown you before, his mischief-loving country cousins often made a fool of Reginald. Now, we just know those rural boys told Reggie that catching the turkey would be a breeze. They are in the background being royally entertained.

Where’s That Turkey? by Wm. Meade Prince

This is no dumb Tom Turkey. When someone with an ax is looking for you, hiding is a good option. This colorful cover was painted for the Post’s sister publication, Country Gentleman by artist William Mead Prince.

Pilgrim Stalking Tom Turkey by J.C. Leyendecker

Would you believe this beautiful cover is from 1907? Artist J.C. Leyendecker did much more than paint ridiculously handsome men for Arrow Shirt ads. He did more Saturday Evening Post covers than any other artist. One of the earliest, and smartest, acts of George Horace Lorimer after taking charge of the Post was to hire J.C. Leyendecker to do a cover in 1899. Between then and 1943, Leyendecker did 322 Post covers, one more than Norman Rockwell. To honor his mentor, Rockwell chose to do one fewer cover.

Thanksgiving by J.F. Kernan

There’s an old myth that if you sprinkle salt on a turkey’s tail, you can catch it. Also, if you sprinkle pepper on a hen’s tail, she will lead you to her nest. These tricks may work, but only because if you’re close enough to sprinkle salt on a turkey’s tail, you’re close enough to catch it anyway and if you pepper a hen’s tail, she’ll probably get disgusted with you and stalk off….back to her nest.

No Hunting – Douglass Crockwell

I’ve always gotten a chuckle from this 1939 cover by artist Douglass Crockwell. No only did this hunter ignore the warning, he’s mad enough to add his own commentary – under the big “NO HUNTING” letters he’s scribbling, “You’re telling me.” Notice that the artist simply signed his covers “Douglass”. This was to avoid confusion with another artist – some guy with a similar last name.

No Hunting – Leslie Thrasher

When this old guy says “No Hunting,” he means it! One might say there have been flagrant violators, since the sign is riddled with bullet holes. We’ve had some cover artists who were wonderful at painting old codgers, and Leslie Thrasher was one of them. This great cover is from 1914.

Springer Spaniels – J.F. Kernan

I’d know that white mustache anywhere; this old guy has been in many beautiful J.F. Kernan covers. This time he’s dressed for the hunt in 1930 and picking up the spaniels for the job. When the little guys grow up, they’ll be great hunters, too.

Duck Hunters – Robert Robinson

Now we all know that hunters and fishermen are the most honest and upright of sportsmen. But there’s not only this 1911 cover of an unsuccessful hunter buying someone else’s catch, there’s a cover a few years later depicting a fisherman doing the same thing. Who wants to go home after hours of hunting or fishing with nothing to show for it?

Patient Dog – John Atherton

This is a sweet one. World War II has taken the man of the house away and this beautiful dog is waiting patiently for his master to return and take him hunting. Not all of those waiting at home are two-legged.

Hunting Couple on Walk – J. Hennesy

It’s a crisp autumn day, and together time for this couple means hunting – or at least walking in the woods. Country Gentleman magazine was a sister publication to the Post for many years and often shared the same artists.

Coachman and Horse by J.F. Kernan

If you think I’ve been looking for an excuse to show off this beautiful cover, you’re absolutely right. The coachman and horse is one of my favorites (of course, my favorites change from week to week). Between the Post and sister publication, Country Gentleman, artist J.F. Kernan did over fifty covers.

Billboard Painters by Penrhyn Stanlaws

There are several covers depicting billboard painters, and I’d forgotten about this one. It was by artist Penrhyn Stanlaws whose covers of elegant ladies, often in interesting hats, graced the Post many times. This particular lady just happens to be several times life size.

Partygoers by Norman Rockwell

The milkman started at the crack of dawn, so if you met him on your way home, you were a bona fide party animal. Note the hard-working deliverer of our morning milk is still carrying his flashlight. Rockwell depicted him as a fatherly type, admonishing the young couple for their unseemly hours.

Blacksmith by L.L. Emmert

Since the Country Gentleman magazine folded in the 1970’s, a lot of cover art is all but forgotten. Today we’re remembering the blacksmith at his labors in 1917. What’s a horse to do these days – go to a shoe store?

Fill ‘er Up by McCauley Conner

I suppose remembering the days when someone pumped your gas makes you officially old, but it’s another job that’s gone by the wayside. I never thought the reason might be gas station attendants like this one, who got distracted by pretty ladies. This could get costly these days!

Soda Jerk by Norman Rockwell

Yes, there were perks to being soda jerks – like girls. Norman Rockwell got the idea for this cover by listening to his youngest son talk about his experience behind the soda fountain. And, yes, Peter Rockwell was the model, although he wasn’t all that pleased with the resulting painting. “I’m not that goofy-looking,” he said. Well, dad had to give the guy some “character”. See if you can dream up any other extinct professions.