Family & Social Life

Original artwork, of page 27, for the book The Taxi that Hurried, written by Lucy Sprague Mitchell, Irma Simonton Black and Jessie Stanton with illustrations by Tibor Gergely, and published by Golden Press in New York, New York, in 1946.

Born in Budapest, Hungary into a middle-class Jewish family, Tibor Gergely (1900-1978) was captivated by art and culture at a young age. Known as a graphic illustrator and a caricature artist, Gergely’s early works documented Jewish life before the rise of Hitler. By 1939 the political situation in Europe was dire, and Gergely and his wife immigrated to America. They settled in New York and his love affair with the city never waned. He was enchanted with his new life in a postwar New York that included skyscrapers, rushing traffic and the excitement of life in the big city.

A member of the American Artists and Writers Guild, Gergely became a prominent illustrator for Little Golden Books, providing drawings for more than seventy books, including Tootle, Five Little Firemen, and Scuffy the Tugboat. His illustrations for The Taxi that Hurried and Make Way for the Thruway portray the celebrated automobile and the expanding highway system, both destined to bring dramatic social and cultural changes to American life.

Oak Ridge Quartet. side 1: No Tears in Heaven; side 2: Old Time Religion (Capitol 48023), from the album, Songs from The Grand Ole Opry (Capitol AD 86).
78 rpm.

The cover art for this album was made by Carlos Andreson. Andreson, also as Anderson, (1905-1978) was an American painter, lithographer, and teacher. A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Andreson studied at the University of Utah, then subsequently in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and Berlin. In 1933, Andreson returned to the United States, creating paintings and drawings of early pioneer life for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and teaching at Utah Arts Center. After the start of WWII, Anderson was commissioned by Abbott Laboratories to paint medical subjects at the stateside Naval hospitals. Andreson moved to San Francisco after the war where he produced artwork for the Oakland Army Base.

Original artwork used for page 21 of the book, Doctor Squash the Doll Doctor, written by Margaret Wise Brown with illustrations by J.P. Miller and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1952.

John Parr Miller (1913-2004) was a native New Yorker who initially worked in the model department of Disney Studios from 1934-1942. He created characters for some of the earliest Disney productions, including Pinocchio, Fantasia and Dumbo. His interests expanded to include children’s illustrations, and his first assignment with Little Golden Books was the artwork for the Little Red Hen, one of the original fifteen books published in 1942. Working in a simple somewhat abstract style, Miller utilized bold, sharp lines and bright colors to make his images appear more graphic than painterly.

Claude Bolling's French Blues Stars. side 1: You Rascal You; side 2: Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Mornin' (Circle J-1046), from the album, Claude Bolling Jazz Band (Circle S-18).
78 rpm.

This album was designed was by Jimmy Ernst (born Hans-Ulrich Ernst, 1920-1984), a German-born American painter.

Frankie Carle. side 1: Stumbling; side 2: Estelle (Columbbia 35571), from the album, At the Piano...Frankie Carle (Columbia C-23).
78 rpm.

The cover art for this album was made by Alex Steinweiss. Alexander “Alex” Steinweiss (1917-2011) was an American artist and graphic designer. He was the first art director of Columbia Records, expanding the use of album covers and cover art. Steinweiss created album cover art from 1938 to 1973.

Jelly Roll Morton. side 1: Aaron Harris [conclusion] [track 1] Robert Charles [part 1] [track 2]; side 2: Robert Charles [conclusion] (Circle JM-35/36), from the album Jelly Roll Morton, Volume 5: Bad Man Ballads (Circle Limited Edition #306).
78 rpm.

This recording is part of a limited edition 45 twelve-inch record set, The Saga of Mr. Jelly Lord. The set is comprised of interviews and musical performances of musician Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton (1890-1941) recorded by American ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax (1915-2002) at the Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, from May 23, 1938 to December 14, 1938. In the interviews, Morton recounts his experiences, both in New Orleans and on the road, as a popular musician of the early twentieth century.

The Saga of Mr. Jelly Lord limited edition record set was issued by Circle Sound Inc., incrementally with two albums every three months, beginning in late 1947. The recordings were pressed on red vinylite. Album design and typography for this set was by Jimmy Ernst (born Hans-Ulrich Ernst, 1920-1984), a German-born American painter.

Original artwork for the book The Taxi that Hurried, written by Lucy Sprague Mitchell, Irma Simonton Black and Jessie Stanton with illustrations by Tibor Gergely, and published by Golden Press in New York, New York, in 1946.

Born in Budapest, Hungary into a middle-class Jewish family, Tibor Gergely (1900-1978) was captivated by art and culture at a young age. Known as a graphic illustrator and a caricature artist, Gergely’s early works documented Jewish life before the rise of Hitler. By 1939 the political situation in Europe was dire, and Gergely and his wife immigrated to America. They settled in New York and his love affair with the city never waned. He was enchanted with his new life in a postwar New York that included skyscrapers, rushing traffic and the excitement of life in the big city.

A member of the American Artists and Writers Guild, Gergely became a prominent illustrator for Little Golden Books, providing drawings for more than seventy books, including Tootle, Five Little Firemen, and Scuffy the Tugboat. His illustrations for The Taxi that Hurried and Make Way for the Thruway portray the celebrated automobile and the expanding highway system, both destined to bring dramatic social and cultural changes to American life.

Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra featuring Billie Holiday. side 1: Easy Living; side 2: When You're Smiling (Columbia 36208), from the album, Hot Jazz Classics - Teddy WIlson-Billie Holiday (Columbia C-61).
78 rpm. Side 1 was originally recorded in 1937 and released on Brunswick 7911. Side 2 was originally recorded in 1938 (second master). This album was released in 1947.

The cover art for this album was made by Alex Steinweiss. Alexander “Alex” Steinweiss (1917-2011) was an American artist and graphic designer. He was the first art director of Columbia Records, expanding the use of album covers and cover art. Steinweiss created album cover art from 1938 to 1973.

Original artwork, pages 24 and 25, for the book, Two Little Miners, written by Margaret Wise Brown with illustrations by Richard Scarry, and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1949. Two Little Miners is part of the Little Golden Books Civic Series. These books introduced young children to the everyday working man, fundamental occupations and essential public service jobs such as policeman, fireman and postman.

Scarry's physical depiction of the two miners and some of the elements depicted in the home scenes are reminiscent of immigrants from southern Europe. According to the online resource, eWV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, “individuals of Italian extraction constitute one of the most important ethnic groups in West Virginia’s population. Most of these Italian Americans date their connection with the state to ancestors who were recruited during the early years of the 20th century to serve the labor needs of West Virginia’s rapidly developing industrial economy. With more than 17,000 Italian immigrants in the state by 1910, they made up 30 percent of West Virginia’s foreign-born population.”

“The great majority of Italian immigrants were employed in the coal industry as pick-and-shovel miners. West Virginia mines were among the most mechanized in this country, but miners born in America or northern Europe generally operated the new machines and usually earned better money, while their counterparts from less favored regions did the handwork.”

Better known for his animal characters and the Busytown series, Richard Scarry (1919-1994) was one of the most prolific 20th-century authors and illustrators of children’s books. He attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston until he was drafted into the army during World War II. After the war, Scarry worked as a freelance artist and contracted with Simon & Schuster to work on the Little Golden Book series. His first illustrations appeared in Two Little Miners, a 1949 story written by Margaret Wise Brown. Scarry’s most popular Little Golden Book was Best Word Book Ever, published in 1963. He published more than 500 children’s books, most depicting animals who took on human characteristics.

Original artwork used for page 25 of the book, Doctor Squash the Doll Doctor, written by Margaret Wise Brown with illustrations by J.P. Miller and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1952.

John Parr Miller (1913-2004) was a native New Yorker who initially worked in the model department of Disney Studios from 1934-1942. He created characters for some of the earliest Disney productions, including Pinocchio, Fantasia and Dumbo. His interests expanded to include children’s illustrations, and his first assignment with Little Golden Books was the artwork for the Little Red Hen, one of the original fifteen books published in 1942. Working in a simple somewhat abstract style, Miller utilized bold, sharp lines and bright colors to make his images appear more graphic than painterly.

This original artwork, for pages 6 and 7, was used for the book Bullwinkle, written by David Corwyn with illustrations by Hawley Pratt and Harry Garo. It was published by Little Golden Press, in 1962.

Hawley Pratt (1911-1999) was an illustrator, animator and film director. He began his career as an artist for Walt Disney Studios in 1933 and after the Disney animators’ strike in 1941, Pratt joined Warner Bros. Cartoons. While at Warner Bros., Pratt worked with renowned animator Isadore “Friz” Freleng on Freleng's Oscar-winning cartoons including Tweety Pie, Speedy Gonzalez and Birds Anonymous. Pratt is often credited as the creator of the animated Pink Panther character portrait. He later went on to direct or co-direct episodes of The Pink Panther cartoons for television.

Harry Garo (1923-1994) worked as an illustrator in 1926 for American Stories, the first American magazine devoted totally to Science Fiction. Known for its sensational covers, this series helped define the genre known as “pulp fiction,” named for the poor, irregular quality of the paper used for printing. In the early 1960s Garo worked on a few Golden Books with Hawley Pratt, including Bullwinkle, Bullwinkle the Hero and Bullwinkle and the Fireman. Garo also illustrated a series of books known as the VIP series, educational books for the juvenile reader exploring different occupations that deal with various modes of technology and transportation such as farmers, railroad engineers and bus drivers. He even illustrated a book for teaching students how to read a map.