The Saturday Evening Post » Post illustrations

Classic Ads: The Art of Advertising

Diana Denny — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:00:07 +0000

“Arrow Collars and Shirts” by J.C. Leyendecker

"Arrow Collars and Shirts"
by J.C. Leyendecker
from November 8, 1930

It is striking that ads in the old issues of The Saturday Evening Post often boast artwork worthy of a cover on the finest magazines of the period. An exquisite example is this 1930 ad by the great J.C. Leyendecker for Arrow Collars and Shirts. Leyendecker was about as famous for these ads as for his prolific Post covers, and the “Arrow Collar Man” was the American ideal for 25 years.

“Fisk Tires” by Norman Rockwell

"Fisk Tires"
by Norman Rockwell
from January 13, 1917

Although several great illustrators did ads for Fisk Tires, Norman Rockwell did artwork for the company from 1917 to 1925 that appeared in magazines such as Youth’s Companion, Boy’s Life and, of course, The Saturday Evening Post. This winter scene with the boys admiring the cool tires is from 1917. There was always a sign or billboard for Fisk Tires in the ad.

“Cadillac” by T.M. Cleland

"Cadillac"
by T.M. Cleland
from June 30, 1928

Did you ever think you would call an advertisement “magnificent”? Artist T.M. Cleland (1880-1964) was a decorative designer, typographer, a well-known printer and, oh, yes, a wonderful illustrator. This 1928 ad for Cadillac is probably a depiction of Monte Carlo, suggesting how fun it would be to tool around Europe in your Caddy.

“Cream of Wheat” by Edward V. Brewer

"Cream of Wheat"
by Edward V. Brewer
from June 30, 1923

We have come across dozens of great old Cream of Wheat ads. Artist Edward V. Brewer developed a series of these ads based on the black chef who appeared on the box (and still does today). The chef with the great smile would show up somewhere in the ad. In the case of this 1923 example, he appeared on the fancy new sign attracting the local children. The original paintings of vintage Cream of Wheat ads now sell for four to five figures.

“Bottles Ad”

"Bottles Ad"
from August 8, 1926

This charming ad from 1926 is touting the health benefits of bottles for your carbonated beverages. “Every bubble holds a heaping measure of health,” claims the text, going so far as to quote a prominent chemist’s assurances that the “average bottle of soft drink has the energy value equivalent to 3 ounces mashed potatoes or ¾ pound tomatoes”. Well, we may question that, but a bottle of pop is certainly easier to consume on the golf course than those food items.

“Hosiery”

"Hosiery Ad"
from April 2, 1927

“Full fashioned, of course—giving that slender, trim ankled appearance that every woman wants.” How a pair of silk stockings achieves that is not clear, but no matter: this one is a charmer and a good example of late 1920s fashion and hairstyles. Like the artwork in so many of these ads, this one is not signed by the artist, but we have our suspicions. The lighting from below, as if by fireplace, and the large-eyed beauty is remarkably similar to a 1923 Post cover by artist Pearl L. Hill, who illustrated eight Post covers during the 20s (see below).

“Waiting” by Pearl Hill

"Waiting"
by Pearl Hill
from April 14, 1923

One of eight Post covers by artist Pearl L. Hill.

We are amassing quite a collection of these wonderful old ads. Let us know if you’d like to see more!

Classic Ads: The Art of Advertising The Saturday Evening Post

Classic Art: Rockwell Visits a Ration Board

Diana Denny — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:30:07 +0000

"The Line at the Ration Board,"Sketch by Norman Rockwell.

Why are these people waiting in line? An artist named Norman Rockwell sketched these folks as they waited to appeal to a group of volunteers known as a ration board.

Everything from meat to gasoline was in short supply during World War II. And heaven help you if you were in dire need of a pair of nylons! The government introduced rationing, which meant you could only buy what your ration coupons allowed, no matter how much money you had. What you thought was an urgent need (for gasoline, as an example) and what the government thought was necessary were often at odds. And who regulated everyone’s fair share? Your local ration board, of course, like the one Rockwell visited (and painted) in 1944.

"The Ration Board"

“Spring was on the land, and the benignant Vermont sun, having penetrated every other nook and cranny in the town of Manchester, presently made its way into a certain quiet room where six men and one woman sat around a long, plain table. Then, in the following order, came: The song of birds, the fragrance of flowers, and—-Norman Rockwell.

“The last of these three, it developed, wanted something. The ration board, having never had a visitor who didn’t, evinced no surprise. In Rockwell’s case, however, the desideratum was none of the things the rest of us try to wheedle out of our ration boards.

“’What I would like,’ said America’s favorite artist, ‘is the privilege of painting pictures of all you board members.’” – From The Saturday Evening Post, July 15, 1944

"Rockwell observing the Ration Board"

The board agreed to the painting as long as the artist made them look good.

“If I do,” he bargained, “will you give me a B card?” (A sticker deeming your car essential to the war effort and thereby entitled to a whopping eight gallons of gasoline a week.)

“No, but if you don’t, they said, “we’ll take away you’re A card.” (Allowing you four gallons of fuel.)

As it happened, the artist painted himself into the scene. At left you see a man standing before the board to plead his case, and sitting, observing, is the artist.

"Petitioning the Board,"Sketch by Norman Rockwell.

How did citizens take to having to appeal to a local board for the right to purchase necessities? “We are about as popular as tax collectors,” wrote Joe M. Dawson in 1943. Dawson served on a Manhattan ration board and described one rather hefty lady who, “despite her coquettish hat and giddy perfume, was quite angry. She had made four trips to the ration board demanding extra gasoline, and each time we decided she was not entitled to it. “I’m an American citizen,” she exploded, waving a scarlet-tipped finger under my nose,” Dawson wrote in “Life on A Ration Board” in The Saturday Evening Post, “You can’t do this to me. I’ve written to that man Henderson; I’ve written to the President. If you don’t give me my gasoline, I’ll write to Uncle Sam!”

"Waiting their turn to be heard,"Sketch by Norman Rockwell.

“Most people understand it isn’t our fault, and that we give our time and energy without pay, but it is human nature to personalize the irritations and troubles; so we get cussed out anyway,” Dawson wrote in the 1943 Post story. But the good people of the boards felt it was a way to serve the war efforts. “Despite the headaches, it has paid me ample dividends, not only in the satisfaction of doing a necessary job but also in humor, and a fascinating insight into my fellow man which I would not have got any other way. Everybody likes to watch and know about his neighbors, and a job on the board is a front-row seat.”

"We need more! Original sketch by Norman Rockwell.

These words reflect what Norman Rockwell was doing at a Vermont ration board a few months later. He knew he was sketching a unique spectacle, not seen before in America. No one knew how long this experience would last or if it would happen again. But it was a part of American history he knew he should capture.

"Let

For more on this subject see the Post‘s articles by Jeff Nilsson:

“Living for Less in America” and “Family Life in Wartime.”

To learn more about ration coupons, we also recommend The Ames (Iowa) Historical Society.

Classic Art: Rockwell Visits a Ration Board The Saturday Evening Post

Classic Covers: Richard Sargent

Diana Denny — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:30:50 +0000

“Doggy Buffet”

January 5, 1957

Artist Richard Sargent (1911-1979) painted 47 Post covers between 1951 and 1962, when photographs were rapidly replacing magazine illustrations. A Midwesterner, he was born and raised in Moline, Illinois and went to art school there. He later became quite the world traveler, but he always remembered the all-American folk and loved putting them in situations that tended to go awry.

“Cramped Parking”

March 5, 1960

Right now Mr. Jones is feeling like a tin can in a trash compactor. But squeezing out of his car may be easier than explaining why he was late for work because he missed the 7:35.

“Dr. and the Dog”

November 21, 1953

“The trouble with painters,” said Post editors of this 1953 cover, “is that they build up awful situations like this, then blithely start work on another cover, leaving the victims to get out of the mess, if possible.” And leaving the observer to wonder what happens next. Artist Sargent was a master at the pregnant situation: Will the man above be able to squeeze out of his car and make the train? Will the dog at the buffet make off with the ham? Will the dog in this painting make a meal of the doctor? When editors asked, “Sargent says he doesn’t know what will happen, because the dog’s hair is so long he can’t see the expression in his eyes.” The rat.

“Sack Full of Trouble”

April 14, 1956

Grocery shopping was easy in the days before Big Chief Troublemaker came along, hiding in tin-can canyons and paper goods trails waiting to ambush Mom or the poor grocer.

Sargent had three sons, starting with a redheaded moppet with a mischievous bent; the inspiration for many a cover.

“Violin Practice”

February 5, 1955

Apparently Red’s skills have not reached a level tolerable even to himself in this 1955 cover. Sargent’s own redheaded son was grown by 1954 when an excited Sargent called a Post editor and said, “Well, what do you suppose happened to me?”

The staffer guessed, “Land a painting in the Metropolitan Museum?” “Better than that!” Sargent cried. “Listen. I’m a little guy: five feet six, 125 pounds. Always wanted to be an athlete when I was a kid—always the last kid to be picked on a team. All my life I’ve yearned to be written up in the sports news. You know the Wykagyl golf course?” (This was a famous suburban New York club near Sargent’s home.) “Well, sir, you’re talking to a champion! Anthony and I just won the Father and Son championship!”

Honestly, this guy couldn’t wait to share the family triumph with his friends at the Post. After sifting through biographical details about the artist, it seemed this little conversation told much more about the man.

“Richard Sargent”

Yep, confirmed the editors, the write-up in the New Rochelle paper detailed the duo’s spiffy score of net 66. So the Post ran its own photo of Sargent and family with the trophy. The lively little redheaded Anthony was by then six feet three and playing golf in the low 80’s. Noting that his dad scored in the 90’s, the editors suggested “he plays better with a brush”.

“Grandma Catches Fly-ball”

April 23, 1960

Number 21 is trying desperately, but it’s a high fly ball, straight into the mitt of…Grandma! Curious Post editors checked around and uncovered the fact that “some 1400 foul balls are knocked into the Yankee Stadium stands every season.” More difficult to ascertain were the stats on how many of those were snagged by little old ladies wearing red gloves.

“The Fat Lady Sings”

December 16,1961

If you ever watched preliminary tryouts for “American Idol,” you probably found yourself cringing like the gentlemen here. Even the bust of Beethoven on the piano is wincing, no doubt wishing he had hands to cover his ears with. Maybe they should start playing “Show Me the Way to Go Home.” This was Dick Sargent in a nutshell, showing us that life has its foibles, but it’s still a hoot!

Classic Covers: Richard Sargent The Saturday Evening Post

Classic Covers: Robert Robinson

Diana Denny — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:30:13 +0000

“Men Arguing About Teddy Roosevelt”

from May 4, 1912

We don’t know much about artist Robert Robinson (1886-1952) and even less about the white-bearded models who posed for at least 15 of the illustrator’s 38 Saturday Evening Post covers. The delightful old geezers argued politics, drove like demons and tried to understand new-fangled things like biplanes and modern art. Enjoy!

“Elderly Couple in Automobile”

from January 11, 1913

“Watching Airplanes With Binoculars”

from July 15, 1914

“Cubist Painting”

from June 27, 1914

“Subzero”

from January 31, 1914

“Cool Drink”

from July 20, 1912

Reprints of these and many other Saturday Evening Post covers are available at Art.com.

Classic Covers: Robert Robinson The Saturday Evening Post