A Century of Fried Chicken

Decades of options for fried chicken from 1884 to 1982 — which one will you try?

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1880s: ‘Scorch Off Hair’

Pick and clean, scorch off hair, wash, and cut up. Rub each piece with salt and sift a little pepper over. If very young, it may be put in the skillet and fried at once. Otherwise turn a small teacupful of water over, cover tight, and boil 20 minutes. When the water has dried out, put in a heaping spoonful of fried meat gravy, set the skillet on the top of stove, and fry till brown.

If gravy is desired, mix one egg with a dessertspoonful of flour and a cupful of milk — first making the flour smooth as for starch — and pour over the chicken when done, setting the pan in the oven long enough to cook the egg. —“Bill of Fare for Winter,” The Country Gentleman, January 17, 1884

1890s: ‘Have Your Pan Ready with Boiling Lard’

Take small spring chickens — large chickens will not be satisfactory — separate the joints, dip them each in egg, then in corn meal or white meal. Meanwhile, have your pan ready with boiling lard, and never put in additional lard while cooking the chicken. Lay as many pieces of chicken in the pan as will lie comfortably without squeezing. Fry a light brown, first on one side, then on the other; have a hot dish in which to put the chicken — keep hot. Make the sauce with the remains of the frying by putting a little cream, pepper and salt, and mixing nicely; throw in a little chopped parsley and pour the sauce around the chicken.

—“Useful Receipts,” The Saturday Evening Post, January 7, 1893

1910s: Pair with Baking Powder Biscuits

Salt the pieces and roll them in flour. Have the skillet hot, with plenty of lard at smoking heat. Allow the chicken to brown quickly on all sides. Then reduce the heat, add a little water from time to time and cook until very tender — an hour is not too long for a good-sized bird. When done make a rich cream gravy. Baking-powder biscuits are the best accompaniment for this dish.

—“Excellent Ways of Cooking Chicken” by Elizabeth L. Gilbert, The Country Gentleman, June 29, 1912

1920s: A Wealth of Butter

We dress the chickens to be fried here the day before and leave them on ice. The next day we cut them up, saving out the giblets and bony pieces to make a stew for the next meal. If we are opulent in butter, which is usually the case here, we salt and lightly pepper the nice pieces, dust them in flour, and place them to fry in a skillet of hot fat or butter. We do this quickly, turning the pieces until they are golden brown.

—“Good Things to Eat” by Corra Harris, The Country Gentleman, October 1, 1928

1930s Faux Fry

Who doesn’t like fried chicken — if it is tender, juicy, and easy to eat? While the method of cooking to be described is not true frying, it offers simpler cooking and meat that has every appearance of fried chicken. Many eating places famous for their fried chicken use this method of preparing it.

Cut up the chicken into serving pieces, two halves for small chickens and quarters for larger sizes, or as for fricassee — 4 to 8 servings — for the largest bird.

If the bird is to be halved or quartered, first break the major joints. This makes for easier eating, more uniform and more satisfactory cooking. The pieces are flattened and stay flattened during the cooking.

Working from the inside, snap the two joints in the wings and the legs. This technique severs the cartilaginous tissue in those joints. One of these joints is the one which attaches the wing and legs to the body. The second joint in the leg attaches the thigh to the drumstick. In the wing, the second joint to be severed attaches the upper part of the wing to the second joint.

For each 1 1/2 pounds of bird, use 1/3 cup of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and dash of pepper, if desired, and rub thoroughly into the surface of each piece. This coating is important to absorb surface moisture which keeps the meat juicy and avoids disagreeable spattering in frying. The pieces are then ready for frying, although many people prefer to have it dipped into beaten egg and crumbs after the flour coating.

Start cooking in fairly hot fat deep enough — about 3/4 to 1 inch layer — so that the pieces need to be turned only once to give a nice browning on outside. In frying, the larger pieces should be fried first, and better results come if the pieces are not crowded in the pan both in the frying and oven cooking. Transfer to covered casserole or roasting pan and cook in a slow to moderate oven, 300 to 350°F, from 1/2 to 1 1/2 hours depending upon the size.

The browning process may be done several hours, or even a day, in advance of the baking and serving time. It has the advantage of removing every trace of frying near or at mealtime. If the flavor of butter is desired, brush the surface with melted butter just before serving. Gravy may be made from the fat drippings left from the baking pan, adding more from the frying pan, if necessary.

—“Savory Surprises with Spring Chickens” by Kathryn Bele Niles, The Country Gentleman, May 1, 1938

1930s French Fry

French-frying chicken is a full-time job, but with a thermometer clipped to the side of the kettle of deep fat you can be surer of temperatures. First step in this kind of frying is to quarter or halve the chicken. Then dip in thin batter or in egg and crumbs. The batter makes a smoother coating, less likely to slip off and be left behind in the frying kettle. A mixture of one egg beaten up with three quarters of a cup of milk, one cup of flour on the scant side, and a teaspoon of salt is a good cover batter for chicken.

When you are ready to dip and slide the chicken in gently, have the kettle of deep fat heated to about 350° F. Again “hot but not smoking” is the word for it.

The moisture in the chicken makes the hot fat bubble and boil. So leave a safe margin at the top of the kettle and have a care for your own skin. A pair of kitchen tongs may prevent a burn on the hand, and they are easy on the chicken. With tongs, you can turn and lift each piece without piercing the brown crust and letting out juice.

Chicken completely immersed in deep, hot fat fries quickly. Started at 350°F, quarters of medium-sized young chicken are usually done in 10 to 15 minutes if you keep the temperature of the fat between 300 and 325°F.

That’s why restaurants feature this kind of fried chicken in their cooked-to-order service. But if more convenient, it can be finished slowly in the oven. I find it best, though, when it moves out of the frying kettle onto the plate with only a brief pause on thick absorbent paper to drain and get a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

—“Chicken — The American Way” by Ruth Van Deman, The Country Gentleman, July 1, 1939

1940s Crispy Coating

Roll pieces of young chicken in seasoned flour. Fry in deep hot fat (350°F) until brown, turning frequently. Finish cooking in covered pan in slow oven (325° F) — about 25 minutes. Spread out chicken and uncover for last 10 minutes’ baking for that crispy coating!

—“Six Things to Be Thankful For” Continental Can Company advertisement, The Saturday Evening Post, November 11, 1941

1940s Herb Mix

It’s something of an adventure to delve into the secrets of herbs and spices and flavorings. The artistry of cooking becomes a reality. Monotony of flavor is exchanged for tangy piquancy. So, in an experimental mood, let’s serve up some highly appetizing dishes, herb-seasoned to taste. You’ll want to try … a good quarter of a teaspoon of ground mace, nutmeg, or ground ginger to your country-fried chicken.

—“Seasoned to Taste,” The Country Gentleman, April 1, 1946

1940s Southern-Fried Chicken

The chicken fried in the Midwest is usually a large semi-adult bird, little short of the classification of hen. The Southern fried chicken is a barnyard subdeb, rarely more than 10 to 12 weeks old and weighing from a pound and a half to two pounds. Midwestern housewives moving to the South and buying frying-sized chickens at Southern markets are usually afraid they have been sold quail. That the younger, tenderer bird is the better suited for frying would seem to be unanswerable. Yet bad cooks have made it of ill repute with too much grease and weird coatings of batter. Actually, it requires merely a rolling in flour or a mixture of flour and meal, and frying in an adequate amount of hot fat. A suitable recipe for fried chicken may be had as follows:

• 1/2–2-pound fryer cut into pieces for frying
• 1–1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup flour
• 6–8 tablespoons bacon drippings or cooking fats or oil

Wash pieces of chicken well. Salt and pepper and roll each piece in flour, coating well — this will give the chicken the brown crust. Heat fat in skillet, add chicken, but do not place pieces on top of each other. Place lid on skillet so that steam will escape — this will prevent the outer crust from getting soggy. Sauté underside 15 minutes on medium heat until a golden brown. Then turn and brown the other side 15 minutes longer. Remove chicken from skillet when very tender and place on brown paper to absorb excess fat.

A two-and-a-half-pound chicken should be cooked 20 minutes on each side.

—“What’s Wrong with Southern Cooking?” by Ralph McGill, The Saturday Evening Post, March 26, 1949

1950s Dad’s Favorite

Because he’s “a great guy,” the three Myers boys help cook dad’s favorite foods for this special Father’s Day dinner.

Different Fried Chicken

• 2 (3- to four-pound) fryers
• 4 cups tomato juice
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• fat for frying

Batter:

• 1 1/2 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups strained, seasoned tomato juice (from above sauce)
• 1 egg beaten

1. Cut fryers into serving pieces.
2. Combine tomato juice, green pepper, garlic, and seasonings in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil. Add chicken, cover pan, and cook over moderate heat 20 minutes.
3. Heat fat for frying to 350°F.
4. Make batter by combining flour and salt. Add tomato juice and mix until smooth. Add beaten egg and mix lightly.
5. Remove chicken from sauce, drain, and dip pieces in batter. Fry in deep fat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Drain on absorbent paper.

—“Dad’s Favorite Dishes” by Sara Hervey, The Country Gentleman, June 1, 1953

 

1970s Shaker-Fried Chicken

• 2 spring chickens, quartered (broilers, fryers, 2 1/2 pounds each)
• 3 tablespoons soft butter
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh marjoram or 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 cup flour
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons lard
• 1 cup light cream

Select chickens weighing 2 1/2 pounds or a little over; smaller ones lack flavor and cook up waxy. Wash well and quarter. Rub thoroughly with soft butter and sprinkle generously with parsley and marjoram. Let stand for 1 hour at room temperature. Then roll in flour to which salt and pepper have been added. Melt the butter and lard in a heavy skillet and brown the chicken on all sides. Pour cream over it and let simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Serves 6.

—“Shakertown: A Spirit Restored” by Linda C. Daniell, The Country Gentleman, September 1, 1977

1980s Low-Cal Crispy Baked Chicken

This chicken has the crispness and taste of fried chicken without the calories or cholesterol.

• 1 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) broiler/fryer, cut up
• 3/4 cup ground oat flour
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1/2 cup unprocessed wheat bran
• 1/2 cup raw wheat germ
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup safflower oil, preferably cold-pressed

In plastic bag, combine all dry ingredients. In shallow bowl, combine milk and egg. Dip chicken, one piece at a time, into plastic bag to coat thoroughly. Dip into milk/egg mixture; coat again with dry mixture. Place in large shallow baking pan; drizzle oil over chicken. Bake at 400°F for 45 to 50 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Serves 4.

Tip: This coating mixture can also be used for fish.

—“Eat Your Way to Better Health” by Michele Gutter, The Saturday Evening Post, January/February 1980

1980s Crispy Fried Chicken for the Summer Picnic

This recipe gives you what you really should want — chicken that is “fried to the bone.”

• 2 cut-up frying chickens (about 3 pounds each)
• 1 cup flour
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Paprika
• Dash of garlic powder
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter plus
• vegetable oil to equal the depth of 1 inch in frying pan or electric skillet

1. Wash chickens and dry carefully in paper towels to remove excess moisture. Cut away excess fat.
2. Pour flour in a paper bag and drop chicken pieces, a couple at a time, into the bag and shake until chicken is well coated.
3. Season chicken liberally with salt, pep- per and paprika, and add a dash of garlic powder.
4. Heat oil and butter over moderate heat (350–375°F). Fry chicken pieces, uncovered, half a chicken at a time. Do not crowd the skillet.
5. Fry chicken about 30 minutes on each side, turning once, until golden brown. Lay chicken pieces on paper toweling to drain. Serves 8.

—“Man the Menu” by Jane E. Lasky and Janice Wald Henderson, The Country Gentleman, June 1, 1982

Hundred-Year-Old Recipes for Cold Winter Days

Back in 1917, The Country Gentleman — a sister publication of the Post — paired two warm winter meals with a frozen pineapple pudding. The dessert chef promises “although it is rich and takes some time for its concoction, it pays!” But if frozen treats sound like a bad follow-up to a warm winter meal, don’t worry. The editors also threw in a hot option for dessert: a yummy squash pie.

Recipes to Use on Cold Winter Days

Originally published in The Country Gentleman, January 6, 1917

Perfection Halibut

• 3 pounds halibut, thick slice
• 4 or 5 slices of onion
• ½ bay leaf
• 4 or 5 thin slices of salt pork
• cracker crumbs
• minced parsley, for garnish

For sauce

• butter
• flour
• milk or cream
• salt, pepper, cayenne

Put the fish in a baking pan with two or three tablespoonfuls of water. Put the pork, and the onion chopped fine, the half bay leaf, and a few cracker crumbs on the fish. Bake for three-quarters of an hour.

Make a white sauce of one heaping tablespoon of butter and the same amount of flour melted together, and one large cupful of hot milk or cream; stir until it bubbles, season with salt, pepper, and a bit of cayenne.

After the fish is cooked, push the flavorings off into the pan. Put the fish on a hot platter. Add one hot cupful of water to the contents of the pan, stir all together and let boil up; strain into the white sauce and pour round the fish. Sprinkle finely with minced parsley all over.

Meat Loaf

• 2 pounds of lean beef
• ½ pound of pork
• 1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley
• ½ cupful of bread crumbs
• ½ cupful of strained tomato
• 2 teaspoonfuls of salt
• ½ teaspoonful of onion
• ½ teaspoonful of pepper
• butter
• tomato sauce

Grind the meat very fine. Add the other ingredients and press into a firm roll. Bake 30 minutes. Have a hot oven to sear the surface, then cook more slowly. Baste with a liquid of one tablespoonful butter and half a cupful of hot water. Serve with tomato sauce.

Squash Pie

• 1 ½ cupfuls of squash, steamed or boiled soft
• 1 pint of milk
• 1 cupful of sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• grated rind of half a lemon
• 2 level tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, moistened with milk
• 1 cupful of shredded coconut

This recipe is sufficient for two pies. The crusts should be baked separately, first pricking them with a fork to prevent puffing. Mash the squash smooth; add the milk, hot; stir in the sugar, grated lemon rind, cornstarch and yolks of eggs, and boil 4 minutes, stirring slowly. When nearly cool, fill the baked crusts and sprinkle with shredded coconut.

A Family Favorite: Mrs. Wood’s Frozen Pudding

• 2 cupfuls of sugar
• 1 cupful of chopped pineapple
• 1 cupful of Sultana raisins or mixed candied fruit, chopped
• 1 pint of cream, whipped
• 1 pint of milk
• yolks of 8 eggs

Mix all but the fruit, and freeze [i.e., chill]; then open and stir the fruit in carefully; let it stand an hour, and then pack in molds if wished. This rule makes enough for a 2-quart freezer. The whites of the eggs may be used in angel cake; or use half the number of whole eggs, made with the milk and sugar into a custard.

I have used this recipe for frozen pudding ever since it was given to me by a notable housekeeper when I was just beginning to keep house. I serve it on most company occasions and for family festivities. Although it is rich and takes some time for its concoction, it pays! —Florence Spring

Art Gallery: Holiday Glamour

This holiday season, we bring you 33 portraits of women from the pages of the Post, from 1920s beauties to 1950s fashion plates, all wishing you season’s greetings and winter cheer!

Sneaking away while the house is asleep, this couple stashes away their Christmas gifts.

 

Lavish parties and formal garb say sophistication, but this couple whisks each other away to steal a kiss under the mistletoe.

 

The warm candlelight from the tree makes this Christmas beauty radiant.

 

They may be celebrating the holidays miles apart, he’s still the focal point of her celebration.

 

This woman hopes for kisses from Christmases future.

 

Arms overflowing with parcels and holly, she can’t remember if she bought the pipes for Grandpa Joe. 

 

This merry maid has boughs of holly to spare.

 

Cheeks chilled to rosy red, there is no better way to enjoy the snow than a stroll with your two best friends. 

 

This festive flapper is cozy indoors while the snow piles up outside.

 

This hostess awaits her guests on a wintry evening.

 

 

Late nights in the winter are perfect for ice-skating…and maybe something more.

 

This elegant lady puts the finishing touches on the mistletoe.

 

There’s no better way to get into the holiday spirit than hanging garland with the one you love.

 

There is no time like the holidays for romance.

 

This holiday lady is eyeing the next victim of a playful pelting.

 

For some, snuggling up next to hearth and enjoying the solitude is a far better way to spend the holidays.

 

With a microphone and her sultry voice, she performs a stunning rendition of “Christmas Time.”

 

Who said kids get to have all the fun?

 

She’s almost late to her own party!

 

Holiday romance takes the chill out of the coldest nights.

 

A quiet moment before the whirlwind.

 

She recounts her encounter with her admirer at the park.

 

When he asked his best friend to join him for dinner he never expected to be the third wheel on his own date.

 

With fresh snow covering the ground, sleigh rides make the perfect escape from the festivities.

 

Poinsettia pinned and hair curled, this winter wonder catches the eye of all the guys.

 

This winter-clad socialite prepares to thrash any who threaten her fashion.

 

She sails with grace across the ice.

 

Out of all of the gifts she received, her favorite was the rose.

 

The best way to enjoy a fresh snowfall is with someone who can hold you close.

 

Waiting for someone under the mistletoe.

 

She coaxes him over for a midnight dance.

 

The letter in her hand doesn’t stave off this mistletoe kiss.

 

This postwoman is delivering season’s greetings in spite of the snowfall.

Remembering Jeannette Rankin—the First Woman in Congress

One hundred years ago, Jeannette Rankin’s home state of Montana voted to send her to Washington, making her the first female member of Congress.

She had long been an advocate for women’s rights, but she was also gaining a national reputation for being, as this Country Gentleman item notes, “a Pacifist with a capital P.”

Pacifism was consistent with western politics in those days. Farmers and ranchers were strongly opposed to the U.S. getting involved in foreign affairs. Rankin remained faithful to her principles in 1917, when President Wilson asked Congress to declare war on the Central Powers in Europe. She, and 50 other congressmen, voted against entering the war.

While she had remained faithful to her pacifism, the country was changing its mind under the influence of pro-war propaganda. Pacifism became suspect, and there were accusations of disloyalty to anyone who didn’t fully support the war.

Rankin’s now unpopular principles, and a reapportionment that put her in a Democratic district, resulted in her losing a bid for reelection in 1919.

She retired to the country, though she continued to speak out for peace and the prevention of war. She also lobbied for progressive reforms, such as ending child labor and providing relief to working women with children.

In 1940, she ran for Congress again and won. Rankin believed that campaigns should be run from the bottom up. She and her mother, who was past eighty at the time, drove from ranch to ranch. She believed “that the country people are the best informed people in our country.”

She was now one of nine women in the House. She gained new notoriety for resisting President Roosevelt’s efforts to aid Great Britain. The day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she was the only member of Congress to vote against the declaration of war. This time, her pacifism drew even stronger criticism and anger from the American public. When President Roosevelt asked for a second declaration of war, this time against Germany and Italy, Rankin abstained to make the vote unanimous. She recognized how unpopular she’d become, and so didn’t run for reelection the following year.

However, she continued to advocate pacifism over the decades, and as late as 1972 was considering running for Congress again. Her position on war had become far more popular as opposition to the Vietnam war drew thousands to the cause.

Several other women were elected to Congress after Rankin. But she was first, and, for many decades, one of the very few women who were elected for their own merits and not simply to fill an office vacated by a husband or father.

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons / public domain

Gallery from the Archive: The Brandywine School

Art, American-style

In 1900, frustrated with formal art instruction, renowned illustrator Howard Pyle opened his own art school in the Brandywine Valley. Rather than teach technique, he encouraged students to capture a moment and bring it to life. His teachings would influence such greats as Maxfield Parrish and Norman Rockwell.

The Wyeth Family

Pyle accepted only the most promising students. One of his most well-known was N.C. Wyeth, who enrolled in 1902 and who shared Pyle’s fascination with the landscape and history of America. Wyeth soon became a celebrity in his own right, painting several of the greatest early covers for the Post and, later, for The Country Gentleman. His work is known for its vibrant color and frequent high drama.

N.C. Wyeth’s son Andrew, too, was inspired by the realism of the Brandywine School. But unlike his father, Andrew was a reserved and subtle artist who restricted himself to a limited color palette. Although he frequently painted landscapes like the one below, he described himself as an abstractionist.

A Woman’s Place

In Pyle’s time, a career as an artist was not generally considered suitable for women. In a bold  challenge to the art establishment, Pyle admitted as many women as men to his school. Several of his alumnae would become quite successful, including Sarah Stilwell-Weber and Katherine R. Wireman, both of whom contributed regularly to the Post.

Down to the Sea

Anton Otto Fischer came to Brandywine after serving as a deckhand for three years. Under Pyle, he learned to apply his nautical experience to vivid seascapes like the one below.

Frank E. Schoonover’s early work was influenced by Pyle’s paintings of knights and pirates, but he soon developed his own style. He is remembered today for scenes of action and romance, frequently set in the wilderness.

Classic Covers: A Hint of Spring

We are over it! We’re through with snow and slush, and we’re seeking hints of spring from our finest cover artists: Rockwell, Leyendecker, Dohanos, Falter, Clymer, and more.

Shoveling Floral Shop Sidewalk

“It was cold in New York,” Post editors say of this John Falter (1910-1982) cover, “and the cagey artist did most of his investigating behind glass, riding up and down on a Madison Avenue bus.” Painting the scene, Falter figured the frozen-faced workers would get an ironic chuckle from the fact that inside the flower shop window it is spring. Or perhaps not. Editors also had to note that Falter delivered his picture to the Post “just before the first of the winter’s oversize snowstorms hit New York. Then the artist hauled out for Arizona, where you may enjoy scenes like this in comfort.”

Springtime, 1935 Boy with Bunny

“You can’t buy a straw hat and make it look old by rubbing dirt in it,” Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) wrote in My Adventures as an Illustrator. “A hat has to be worn in the sun and sweated in and sat on and rained on. Then it’ll be old. And look it.” In 1935 Rockwell was asked to illustrate Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and he took the costuming very seriously. Desperately needing the right hat for Huck, he found just the thing in, appropriately, Hannibal, Missouri, Twain’s hometown. He spotted “a man walking along the road wearing a straw hat in a beautiful state of decay” and managed to buy it from him. Before long he ended up with a carload of clothes, “all old and rotten, battered, tattered, and splotched.”

Folks around Hannibal no doubt talked for a long time about that crazy guy who paid good money for their old duds, but the book illustrations were done to everyone’s satisfaction. And, like the boy greeting spring (left) with his worn hat and raggedy pants, some Post covers reflected the “Huck Finn look.”

Reading Among the Blossoms

Despite the fact that F. Sands Brunner (1886-1954) was very much a rugged outdoorsman who enjoyed camping, canoeing, and mountain climbing, most of his paintings reflect domesticity with adorable children and lovely women. This 1936 work from Post sister publication Country Gentleman is a case in point. The rich color and skillful use of lighting are typical of Brunner’s work. The Boyertown, Pennsylvania, native painted three Country Gentleman and two Post covers.

Appalachian Rhododendrons

Nature took over on a grand scale in most of John Clymer’s (1907-1989) 80 Post covers, and people were secondary. In fact, the viewer almost has to squint to see the family consisting of Dad with baby on his back, Mom in straw hat, and daughter leading them along the trail to Craggy Pinnacle near Asheville, North Carolina. Clymer told Post editors, “Sections of the trail wind through 10-foot-high rhododendrons, and the ground is carpeted with the rich pink petals of the flowers that have fallen.”

“These floriferous slopes look their best in mid-June,” editors noted in 1961, “as they did when the Catawba and the Cherokee held sway in the Carolinas. But if the scenery of the area has not changed much, the people have. What self-respecting Indian brave would have toted a papoose on his back?”

Hardware Store at Springtime

Artist Stevan Dohanos (1907-1994) loved hardware stores, and editors informed us that “the store he has painted affectionately for this week’s cover is a composite of many where Dohanos himself has obeyed the impulse, very strong in the spring, to buy a lot of new garden tools.” They warned, however, “this equipment buying is by all odds the most popular phase of gardening, for on a bland spring day there is nothing like the feel of a good rake or hoe in your hand—in the hardware store.”

Ready to Garden

This gentleman has made his trip to the hardware store and is hauling those spring purchases, lawn mower and all, back by public transportation. Perhaps more surprising is that the illustration is by the great J.C. Leyendecker, the man responsible for those chiseled Arrow Collar men who “haunted several generations of less fortunate-mankind,” according to David Rowland in a 1973 issue of the Post. In Leyendecker’s 40-plus years with The Saturday Evening Post, he showed amazing versatility as an illustrator, depicting subjects varying from elegant to comical in more than 300 covers.

Classic Covers: Women Artists

Let’s face it: The venerable old Saturday Evening Post was never in the forefront of the fight for female equality. Yet, as far back as 1904, some of our finest cover artists were women. This week we share the art of three of these fine illustrators.

Sarah Stilwell-Weber

Swing Up High
Sarah Stilwell-Weber
May 20, 1911

 

From 1904 to 1921, Sarah Stilwell-Webber (1878-1939) created 60 Saturday Evening Post covers, mostly of women and children. Her paintings of lavishly attired women tended toward the exotic and imaginative, like the lady with the leopard below. Her depictions of children, such as this 1911 cover, delightfully conveyed what fun it is to be a child. These depictions are perhaps why she was also a well-known children’s book illustrator.

Stilwell-Weber studied under the preeminent art instructor of the period, Howard Pyle. In addition to the Post, she illustrated for Country Gentleman, Collier’s, and Harper’s Bazaar. Stilwell-Weber remains a prominent name from the Golden Age of American illustration (1880s-1920s), when American periodicals were rich in artwork that could be mass-produced for the first time.

GALLERY:

Katharine Richardson Wireman

Japanese Lantern
Katharine R. Wireman
June 28, 1924

 

Lighting a party lantern for the 1924 Fourth of July celebration provides artist Katharine R. Wireman (1878-1966) an opportunity to work with soft light and shadows. Stilwell-Weber’s contemporary, Wireman created the first of her four Post covers in 1906. (Wiremen also painted 22 covers for sister publication, Country Gentleman.) Her works (below) emphasized carefree moments, and she often depicted her characters with rosy cheeks and joyful dispositions.

Wireman studied at the Drexel Institute under Howard Pyle in 1899. She then moved to Germantown, Pennsylvania, where she and a group of close-knit female artists, including Stilwell-Weber, began their illustration careers.

GALLERY:

Neysa McMein

Evening Gown
Neysa McMein
May 21, 1938

 

By the Roaring ’20s, artist Neysa McMein (1890-1949) was very much a celebrity, mentioned or quoted in magazine articles, fiction, and in advertisements with some regularity. (A 1928 Post article on renowned violinist Jascha Heifetz tells how the musician and his entourage, stuck in a town where nothing for evening entertainment was open, made their way to Heifetz’s room, where he cleared the bed for a dice game and a cheerful shout came from Neysa McMein “whom one does meet in the oddest places,” according to the story.)

McMein was known to entertain other celebrities of the time, such as Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, and Dorothy Parker, note Walt and Roger Reed in The Illustrator in America 1880-1980. She lived in an apartment atop Carnegie Hall, writes drama critic David Finkle in an intriguing 2009 Huffington Post article, and she “was known for throwing open her digs to the rich or not-that-rich and famous.

“Furthermore, McMein had a reputation for being a libertine—or, at the very least, a very liberated lady,” writes Finkle. “…There’s an inherent irony here, too. In contrast with her free-spirit life, McMein’s women were the embodiment of innocence [as we see below in a few of her 62 Post covers]. … McMein was defining the American woman for McCall’s, The Saturday Evening Post, and other publications at the same time as chipping away at the image in her daily affairs.”

GALLERY: