Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935)

Jessie Willcox Smith was among the most gifted of the students of Howard Pyle, and she took to heart his precept of studying a particular subject thoroughly, and conversely, painting what one knows best in order to bring the subject alive.

Quite early, she settled on exploring the universe of the child, and did so with great sensitivity and tenderness over the first 30 years of this century.

Her mature work in no way resembles her teacher's, but bears more affinity to that of Edward Penfield and Toulouse-Lautrec and other poster artists, echoing the contemporary graphic approach with its emphasis on a spare but expressive charcoal line, somewhere between the fluidity of Art Nouveau and the boxiness of the Arts & Crafts movement.

This style, together with excellent draughtsmanship, and her strongly designed compositions, often unusual because of their view from the child's perspective, inspired a school of followers. Smith worked most comfortably with charcoal, often adding watercolor washes, occasionally varnishing over the drawing to add highlights in oil.

Smith was a prolific book illustrator, and remarkably, many of these beautiful volumes are in print today, probably bought as much for adults' nostalgia as for their relevance to children.

Her magazine covers, given little attention by her bibliographer Edward Nudelman, are no less important. Like her illustrations of verse, they tend to depict quintessential moments of childhood: playing with blocks, fear of the dark, etc., so they function quite well as pictures apart from their original connection with text.

Through her pictures of children, whether illustrations for fairy tales or of simple domestic scenes, Smith changed and enlarged the appreciation of children in American popular culture by her enormously sympathetic portrayals.

We are proud to carry her artwork on our Greeting Cards, Nursery Art Cards and Stretch Canvasses.

Maud Humphrey(Bogart)

Maud Humphrey was one of the most popular American, Victorian illustrators, at the turn of the 19th century, having a career that spanned from the late 1880’s up to the 1920’s.

Her commercial illustrations’ included advertisements, calendars, cards, and more than 20 story books and promoted companies such as Prudential Insurance and Ivory Soap.

Other work appeared on the covers of Harper’s and Century Magazines and was exhibited in major exhibitions in both Boston and New York.

In addition, her young son, Humphrey Bogart, was used as the model for a national advertising campaign for Mellin’s baby food and became a celebrity soon after his birth as “The Original Maud Humphrey Baby”.

Maud became part of the early suffragette movement and broke through the constraints of Victorian motherhood to continue a successful working career.

We are pleased to reproduce some of these beautiful illustrations from Maud Humphrey’s Mother Goose series.

Johnny Gruelle

The character of Raggedy Ann was created in 1915 as a doll, by the talented illustrator, Johnny Gruelle, for his young daughter Marcella. The name was formed from a combination of two poems, The Raggedy Man and Little Orphan Annie.

The book Raggedy Ann Stories followed in 1918 and became an instant success . Her floppy side kick, Raggedy Andy joined Ann in 1920 dressed in his sailor suit and hat.

Marcella succumbed to smallpox, after a routine un-consented school vaccine. Gruelle became an opponent of school vaccinations and the doll was used as a symbol of the anti-vaccination movement.

Since that time over 50 million books and products have been sold and the infamous Ann and Andy have been inducted into The Toy Hall of Fame as American Toy’s of National Significance.

These products are produced in dedication to the talent of an illustrator and the love of a child.