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==Illustrated Books==
==Illustrated Books==
[[File:People%27s_Home_Journal,_May_1928.jpg|thumb|117px| People's Home Journal 5-1928 (Runner slides home)]]
[[File:People%27s_Home_Journal,_May_1928.jpg|thumb|117px| People's Home Journal 5-1928 (Runner slides home)]]
(His artistic contributions to short stories, include the following from ''[[Scribner's Magazine]]'': ''Tragedy'' by Eve Bernstein, April 1928 p.&nbsp;479 and ''On the Dark Trail'' by Franklin Holt, July 1928 p.&nbsp;71. Also, ''[[Collier's]]'': ''The Unfairway'' by Burford Lorimer, Dec. 25, 1926 pp. 22-23.)<ref>[http://www.unz.org/Pub/Colliers-1926 The Unfairway]. Caddie with man/woman & caddie with father.</ref>
(His artistic contributions to short stories, include the following from ''[[Scribner's Magazine]]'': ''Tragedy'' by Eve Bernstein, April 1928 p.&nbsp;479 and ''On the Dark Trail'' by Franklin Holt, July 1928 p.&nbsp;71. Also, ''[[Collier's]]'': ''The Unfairway'' by Burford Lorimer, Dec. 25, 1926 pp. 22-23.)<ref>[http://www.unz.org/Pub/Colliers-1926dec25-00022 The Unfairway]. Caddie with man/woman & caddie with father.</ref>
*''Araminta''. Helen Cady Forbes, 1927. (Credits are on the frontispiece & facing pp.&nbsp;134, 212.)
*''Araminta''. Helen Cady Forbes, 1927. (Credits are on the frontispiece & facing pp.&nbsp;134, 212.)
*''Philus, the Stable Boy of Bethlehem; and Other Children's Story-Sermons for Christmas....'' Edmund J. Cleveland, 1927. (Credits are on the frontispiece and facing pp. 52, 66, 124.) The opening story is about a fictional stable boy, who was present at the Holy Birth.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11810/11810-8.txt Project Gutenberg]. U.S. © Renewals, Jul.-Dec. 1954.</ref>
*''Philus, the Stable Boy of Bethlehem; and Other Children's Story-Sermons for Christmas....'' Edmund J. Cleveland, 1927. (Credits are on the frontispiece and facing pp. 52, 66, 124.) The opening story is about a fictional stable boy, who was present at the Holy Birth.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11810/11810-8.txt Project Gutenberg]. U.S. © Renewals, Jul.-Dec. 1954.</ref>

Revision as of 17:05, 21 March 2012

Martin's Most Notable Work Saturday Evening Post 8-23-1930. He designed the curly-haired, smiling boy, who was introduced in early 1930. (Artist signature in print - bottom right of image.)

Paul Martin (June 6, 1883, New York City, New York – March 19, 1932, Ossining, New York)[1] was a graphic artist and illustrator. His artwork appeared on eight-different major magazine covers from 1923-30, '32 & '36. Martin redesigned the then-iconic Fisk Tire Boy character. He played in tennis tournaments around the Greater New York area from 1918-31. The annual Paul Martin Singles Tournament is named after him.

Background

The Father of American Illustration was the multi-talented Howard Pyle. Others who gained much fame in this field included James Montgomery Flagg, Charles Dana Gibson, J.C. Leyendecker, Maxfield Parrish, Frederic Remington, Norman Rockwell and N.C. Wyeth. The vast majority of illustrators, however, received little recognition compared to the fine arts painters. This was basically due to their artwork being viewed as more commercially than creatively inspired. Nonetheless, illustrators once played a powerful role in communicating the people's aspirations, concerns, customs, humor, labor and social interests.[2] One of these unheralded players was Paul Martin, whose work graced the covers of Collier's, Everybody's, Farm & Fireside, Liberty, Parents and People's Home Journal from the 1920s to early 1930s. These six each at one time ranked among the leading magazines. They all went out of business a long time ago, except for Parents. Their eventual downfall was caused by the changing times (or taste), radio and television (more attractive medium for advertisers) and economics (increased cost/decreased revenue). The more specialized ones that targeted specific audiences, tended to fare better. Another point is that major advancements in photographic equipment and technology took place during the 1930s. This brought about the gradual changeover from illustrated to photographic covers.[2]

Collier's

Collier's 10-25-1924 (Teammates getting and giving the play call)

General interest magazines (mixture of entertainment, pictures, politics, serials, short stories and sports) were once very popular and appealed to mass audiences. One of them was the historically significant Collier's, which had a revival under new editor William Chenery in 1925.[3][4] Martin drew many of their covers during the Roaring Twenties, including seven in 1925. His recurring theme was of a youthful boy in various lighthearted situations. This included the following: catching a baseball, eating desserts (pictured below), playing the flute,[5] wearing a straw hat, shooting marbles, shoveling snow, carrying schoolbooks, riding a sled, winding up a toy, bobbing for apples, playing football (pictured), eating turkey, happily swimming, getting a shaved haircut, saying grace, working as a messenger, daydreaming at school about fishing and going down a water slide. He seldom veered from this subject matter. His simple yet bold drawing style captured the aspects of youth that were innocent and carefree. Martin excluded the non-essential details (extra people, structures, trees, scenery etc.), which allowed viewers to make an instant connection. His paintings were often easy to recognize, since their theme and style remained fairly consistent. They sometimes gave the illusion of three-dimensional depth. This was through the use of various techniques, such as overlapping, color intensity/variation and linear perspective. Collier's couldn't survive or keep up with the rapidly changing times following WWII.[3] Its main culprit was television, which dramatically took away from their advertising and circulation revenue.

The Fisk Tire Boy

Prelude: The Fisk Rubber Company (as originally known) switched over from producing primarily bicycle to automobile tires in 1901.[6] Their plant was located along the riverfront in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. Its facilities were making 5,000 tires a day in the 1920s.[6] Fisk struggled financially during most of the 1930s. They were bought out by U.S. Rubber (1940), which became known as Uniroyal Inc. (1961). Through a merger, their name changed again to Uniroyal Goodrich (1986). Four years later, this company sold its tire division to Michelin. They currently produce the brand for Discount Tire.

He completely reshaped one of the most famous characters in the history of American advertising. It was the Fisk Tire Company's yawning boy,[7][8] who came with the catchphrase "Time To Re-tire" (debut 1914).[9] This slogan had a double meaning, which was emphasized in its ads. An artistic touch-up turned the yawning into a smiling boy in early 1929. Martin was then commissioned to come up with a drastically different, well-defined, modern-day figure in late 1929.[10] During the changeover process, the lad's one-piece sleeper became a two-piece pajama. The slippers were also added. His nephew was used as the model (neck down).[11] Still, the pose itself remained basically intact, along with the all-important props. This new version was initially used by Fisk Tires to showcase their Air-Flight brand, in advertisements and promotions. This included twelve times in the Saturday Evening Post, between Feb. 8 and Aug. 23, 1930 (pictured above).[12] It was also offered to the public as an 11x14 inch art-print, via a special mail-in coupon offer in 1930.[13] The image appeared with a slight facial change in other formats as well, such as on the sleeve cover of their six promotional books subtitled "Time to Re-tire / A Bedtime Story" in 1931. Its subjects: Candy Land, Jack and the Bean Stalk, Little Black Sambo, Peter Rabbit,[14] Three Bears and Three Little Kittens. Others formats included ashtrays,[15] clocks, letterheads, mailing envelopes,[16] posters and puzzles.[15] Martin drew a very similar version that appeared in Boys' Life and other magazines from 1930-34.[17] Fisk Tires then went back to the original sleepy boy in 1935.[18] Incidentally, Norman Rockwell drew a series of paintings surrounding the character, which were published in 1917-19 and 1924-25.[19] Other renowned artists also drew the character, such as J.F. Kernan and Leslie Thrasher.

Graphic Artist

Happiness is having five puppies, on a rainy day. Martin's paintings often included a pup or two or....

He painted a lively advertisement for the all-steel, General Electric "Monitor-Top" Refrigerator in 1930. It featured two active boys running a lemonade stand, with their mother gleefully looking on through the open kitchen window.[20] This ad was also highlighted in their video commercial,[21] which promoted the first affordable model for residential use (though at a hefty price). His other known credits for GE's "Monitor Top" showed a girl playing with blocks,[22] and two girls attentively listening to an enthusiastic sales boy.[23] Martin drew a poster for the old Hecker H-O Company (manufacturer of oatmeal), which received much acclaim.[24] Another popular one was titled "Juniors Helping Everywhere" (with twenty-one different scenes), for the American Junior Red Cross in 1930.[25] He designed a contest-winning poster titled "Usefulness • Beauty • Health • Truth • Knowledge," for the Girl Scouts in 1931.[26][27] This image later appeared on the cover of their equipment catalogs for Fall 1932 and Spring 1933.[27] It symbolized the Girl Scout movement and was in vogue through 1936.[27] His skillful drawings also ended up on Gerlach-Barklow calendars,[28] such as one titled "Singin' in the Rain" from 1931. It showed a boy sitting down and sheltering several pups with an umbrella (pictured). Some trade publications that used his cover artwork were Progressive Grocer (for food retailers),[29] and Silent Hostess (devoted to the homemaker).[30]

Personal life

Martin studied commercial art at the National Academy of Design in New York City[26] from 1902-06.[31] He then went to work for an outdoor advertising firm (before going freelance).[32] Martin was one of the top-thirty ranked tennis players in the New York metropolitan area,[33][34] and won numerous trophies from the late 1910s[35] to early 1930s.[36] This included, for example, one for capturing the championship at Sunningdale Country Club in 1920.[37] Martin battled against the boy wonder Vincent Richards.[38] He played number one singles and doubles for both the University Heights (Bronx, NY)[39] and County (Scarsdale, NY)[40] Tennis Clubs. The Westchester County Tennis League holds the annual Paul Martin Singles Tournament.[41][42] (Its namesake was one of the league's founding fathers.) The winners of this tournament have their names engraved, on one of Martin's first place trophies. His homes in New Rochelle (once known for its elite artists)[43] and Ossining, New York, doubled as studios.[11] He occasionally used family members as models. Uncle Paul's niece is shown writing down the license number of a boy's wagon (for knocking over her doll carriage),[11] on the Liberty cover of September 12, 1925. She's also highlighted on the American Junior Red Cross poster.[11][25] His mother-in-law is shown basting a turkey for Thanksgiving,[11] on the People's Home Journal cover of November 1928. Martin died of ulcers following a major operation at Ossining Hospital in 1932.[26][44] He was 48 years old. His wife (and occasional mixed doubles partner Lauretta)[39] survived him by forty years. She donated the tournament trophy named after her husband.

Illustrated & Signed Mag Covers

Collier's 2-2-1924 (Businessman's lunch: cream pie, chocolate cake, rice pudding and an ice cream sundae)

(Or else imprinted with the words "Cover by Paul Martin." His artwork featured on Foreign Service was initially sold to Parents in 1930. They ended up not using the piece and so it was resold. His artwork featured on Die Hausfrau was initially dealt to the Gerlach-Barklow Calendar Company in Dec. of 1929. This list contains thirty-five known credits. It encompasses three different magazines from Sept. of 1925.)

Illustrated Books

People's Home Journal 5-1928 (Runner slides home)

(His artistic contributions to short stories, include the following from Scribner's Magazine: Tragedy by Eve Bernstein, April 1928 p. 479 and On the Dark Trail by Franklin Holt, July 1928 p. 71. Also, Collier's: The Unfairway by Burford Lorimer, Dec. 25, 1926 pp. 22-23.)[49]

  • Araminta. Helen Cady Forbes, 1927. (Credits are on the frontispiece & facing pp. 134, 212.)
  • Philus, the Stable Boy of Bethlehem; and Other Children's Story-Sermons for Christmas.... Edmund J. Cleveland, 1927. (Credits are on the frontispiece and facing pp. 52, 66, 124.) The opening story is about a fictional stable boy, who was present at the Holy Birth.[50]
  • The Prince and the Pig's Gate, and Other Sermons in Story. Robert Hugh Morris, 1928. (Credits are on the frontispiece and facing pp. 48, 134, 166.)[51]
  • The Baseball Detective. Charles G. Muller, 1928. (Credits are on the frontispiece & facing pp. 22, 132, 250.)
    It's the story of baseball, competition, friendship and intrigue at Fisk School for Boys.[51]
  • Chad of Knob Hill; the Tale of a Lone Scout. Howard R. Garis, 1929. (Credits are on the frontispiece & pp.
    14, 60, 85, 97, 163, 187, 213, 281.) Garis was the author of the Uncle Wiggily stories.

References & notes

  1. ^ Register of Deaths for the Village of Ossining, which is located in Westchester County, New York.
  2. ^ a b "Historical Note". Its key source: Cover Story: the Art of American Magazine Covers 1900-1950 by Hiller & Fili, 1996.
  3. ^ a b Cavalcade of Collier's, edited by McArdle, 1959 p. xii.
  4. ^ "Newsstand 1925". (Overview / General source.)
  5. ^ a b Collier's (picture #1). Collier's (picture #2). A young flutist wearing a sailor suit & red bow, June 28, 1924.
  6. ^ a b Chicopee, Postcard History Series by Jendrysik, 2005 pp. 29 (switched over), 33 (tires a day).
  7. ^ America A to Z by Reader's Digest, 1997 pp. 364-65. (It's listed as one of eleven top trademarks in history.)
  8. ^ The 100 Greatest Advertisements: Who Wrote Them and What They Did by Watkins, 1959 pp. 16-17.
  9. ^ Saturday Evening Post, March 7, 1914 p. 1 (first time the character appeared in print).
  10. ^ His signed in prints can be seen in the Saturday Evening Post issues of March 8, 1930 p. 76 (large size), July 26, 1930 p. 91 (purple backdrop) & Aug. 23, 1930 p. 38 (blue backdrop).
  11. ^ a b c d e Hard Row to Hoe (Healdsburg, Calif.), fall 2005 pp. 1-3 (on Ossining studio and relatives). Cite error: The named reference "Hard" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  12. ^ Saturday Evening Post, Feb. 8 p. 106, March 8 p. 76, April 5 p. 107, May 3 p. 69, May 10 p. 128, May 24 p. 61, June 7 p. 67, June 21 p. 89, June 28 p. 87, July 5 p. 69, July 26 p. 91 & Aug. 23 p. 38. (All issues are from 1930.)
  13. ^ Saturday Evening Post, March 8, 1930 p. 77 (signed in print).
  14. ^ "Bedtime Story Book - Peter Rabbit". Fisk Tire Company, 1931.
  15. ^ a b "Ashtrays 1-2" & "Puzzle". Fisk Tire Company, early 1930s. Cite error: The named reference "Items" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. ^ The mailing envelopes are signed in print by Martin. His credits included all depictions of a two-piece pajama-clad boy. This was used as the company's trademark from 1930-34.
  17. ^ National Petroleum News, Feb. 19, 1930 p. 120, Boys' Life, May p. 43, June p. 53, July p. 45, 1932, Sept. p. 28, Dec. p. 42, 1933, April p. 28, May p. 30, June p. 42 & Dec. p. 55, 1934.
  18. ^ The Hogan Handbook, Fisk-Federal-Badger Tire Catalog, Thomas E. Hogan Inc., 1935 pp. 35-36. (The original Fisk Boy did not appear in magazine ads from 1930-36. But, he appeared on various advertising material, starting in 1935.)
  19. ^ Fisk Tire ads. Rockwell credits from 1917-19 & 1924-25.
  20. ^ Silent Hostess, 1930, vol. 2 no. 5 (inside cover), Saturday Evening Post, July 26, 1930 p. 43 & Ladies' Home Journal, Aug. 1930 p. 70. (All three show the same ad.)
  21. ^ "General Electric Monitor Top". Subtitled: "Makes It Safe to be Hungry - Part One," 1932. (Ad shown at the 5:05-5:15 mark.)
  22. ^ Saturday Evening Post, Oct. 25, 1930 p. 34 (blocks).
  23. ^ Saturday Evening Post, Nov. 22, 1930 p. 37 (sales boy).
  24. ^ "I don't care, I'm strong" (title of the poster). Girl cautions boy to be careful, who's wearing a leather aviator cap.
  25. ^ a b American Junior Red Cross. The Messenger, "Self-Sustaining Youth," Sept. 2007 vol. 2 no. 4. (This shown poster came from the archives of the American Red Cross Mus. in D.C.)
  26. ^ a b c Citizen Sentinel (Ossining, NY), March 19, 1932 p. 1. Cite error: The named reference "CS" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  27. ^ a b c Girl Scout Collector's Guide by Degenhardt & Kirsch, 1987 pp. 163 (picture of the poster), 215 (details).
  28. ^ Title Leaves for 1932 Line & Title Leaves for 1933 Line (salesman's catalogs).
  29. ^ Tables of Contents. Progressive Grocer, Sept. 1922 vol. 1 no. 9 (taking phone order) & Nov. 1922 vol. 1 no. 11 (weighing turkey). Credits for Cover Design are given on pages 5.
  30. ^ Silent Hostess by General Electric, 1931 vol. 3 no. 4 (strong boy flexing his muscles to mother).
  31. ^ Archive Department of the National Academy Museum and School, New York City, New York.
  32. ^ Census of 1920. He was still working in outdoor advertising that year. His first known credits were for Progressive Grocer in 1922.
  33. ^ The New York Times, Jan. 8, 1922 sec. 9 p. 1 (top-thirty).
  34. ^ Wright & Ditson Officially Adopted Lawn Tennis Guide, 1921 pp. 29 (USA ranking), 109 (NY metropolitan area ranking).
  35. ^ The New York Times, Oct. 20, 1919 p. 18, "Net Feature" 7-11-21 p.16, "Eight Men Left" 7-21-21 p.13, Oct. 17, 1921 p. 12 & July 17, 1925 p. 12. (All five are misc. sources.)
  36. ^ "Martin, Bassford Win Doubles Title". The New York Times, July 19, 1931 sec. 10 p. 7.
  37. ^ "Martin Tennis Winner". The New York Times, July 11, 1920 sec. 1 p. 17 (held on the Sunningdale courts in Greenburgh).
  38. ^ "Close Finishes". New York Tribune, May 18, 1918 p. 14 (held at the Harlem Tennis Club).
  39. ^ a b "Finals Reached". The New York Times, Oct. 13, 1922 p. 22 (University Heights Tennis Club).
  40. ^ The New York Times, Sept. 23, 1928 sec. 11 p. 8 (County Tennis Club of Westchester).
  41. ^ Westchester County Tennis League. They have hosted the event since the 1930s.
  42. ^ Sports Illustrated. 6-15-64. Originally called the Paul Martin Memorial Invitational (see notation next to July 5th).
  43. ^ Norman Rockwell Museum. This is the press release for their exhibit "Toast of the Town," May 17, 2002.
  44. ^ "The New York Times, March 20, 1932 sec. 2 p. 7 (obituary).
  45. ^ Die Hausfrau (magazine). Milwaukee, Wisc., April 1936. (Image originally appeared on calendar and ink blotters in 1931.)
  46. ^ Everybody's (magazine). A young swimmer and his playful yet mischievous dog, Sept. 1925.
  47. ^ Boys' Life, May 1932 p. 52, May 1933 p. 30 & May 1934 p. 44. (All three show a small picture of the cover.)
  48. ^ Puzzled boy reading Parents (desc. of cover). This image later appeared on Gerlach-Barklow calendars with altered lettering.
  49. ^ The Unfairway. Caddie with man/woman & caddie with father.
  50. ^ Project Gutenberg. U.S. © Renewals, Jul.-Dec. 1954.
  51. ^ a b Project Gutenberg. U.S. © Renewals, Jul.-Dec. 1955.

External links

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