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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.

A Year in the City was written by Lucy Sprague Mitchell with illustrations by Tibor Gergeley, and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1948.

Born in Budapest, Hungary into a middle-class Jewish family, Tibor Gergeley (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 Gergeley 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.

By 1940 Gergely was working for the American Artists and Writers Guild and became a frequent illustrator for Little Golden Books, providing drawings for more than seventy books, including The Taxi that Hurried, Make Way for the Thruway and A Year in the City.

Gergely never lost his amazement for life in the United States and the ever-changing social endeavors. A Year in the City is reflective of his admirations and amazement with the dynamic elements of American Society and A Year in the City emphasizes his wonderment for the people, places and things that make up American society.

In addition to Gergely's fascination with the constant changes in American society, he was also enthralled by the dramatic social changes and events expanding the role of transportation and America's love affair with the automobile. A Year in the City is another example of his wonderment for the people and places in New York City. He enjoyed portraying the numerous scenes of everyday life in New York City.

side 1: Joan Roberts with Oklahoma Girl Chorus and Orchestra. Many a New Day; side 2: Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts with Oklahoma Orchestra. People Will Say We're in Lovd (Decca 23287), from the album, Oklahoma! (Decca A-359). 78 rpm.

This album is from the 1943 Broadway musical Oklahoma!, with book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Richard Rogers. Oklahoma! opened on March 31, 1943 at the St. James Theatre and ran for 2,212 performances.

This original artwork, for pages 24, 25, and 35, was used for the book Come Play House written by Edith Osswald with illustrations by Eloise Wilkin. This book was published by Simon and Schuster in New York, New York, in 1948.

A Graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Eloise Wilkin (1904-1987) studied illustration. In her early years she worked as a freelance artist in New York City, illustrating schoolbooks for children learning to read, paper dolls and puzzles. She was married and raising a family in upstate New York when she started working from home creating illustrations for Little Golden Books in 1946. A prolific illustrator, Wilkin's work is easily identifiable for her adorable images of children with round faces and rosy pink cheeks. It is reported that she modeled her characters on her own family members and friends. Her beautifully detailed settings and backgrounds demonstrate her meticulous research and attention to detail. Her depiction of the idyllic home and family life reflected the post war optimism of the 1950s. She worked for Little Golden Books until 1984 and continued to design dolls for Vogue and Madame Alexander.

A stalwart Catholic, Wilkins was much attuned to the awakening social conscious of the 1960s. In 1964, the National Urban League, headed up by Whitney Young, brought attention to what he considered a fundamental omission on the part of the juvenile publishing world who he accused of racial stereotyping. Indeed, there were no children of color depicted in this vast category of books, but Eleanor Wilkin was one of the first illustrators to include an integrated classroom in We Like Kindergarten.

Original artwork, of page 22, for the book, A Year in the City, written by Lucy Sprague Mitchell with illustrations by Tibor Gergeley, and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1948.

Born in Budapest, Hungary into a middle-class Jewish family, Tibor Gergeley (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 Gergeley 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.

By 1940 Gergely was working for the American Artists and Writers Guild and became a frequent illustrator for Little Golden Books, providing drawings for more than seventy books, including The Taxi that Hurried, Make Way for the Thruway and A Year in the City.

Gergely never lost his amazement for life in the United States and the ever-changing social endeavors. A Year in the City is reflective of his admirations and amazement with the dynamic elements of American Society and A Year in the City emphasizes his wonderment for the people, places and things that make up American society.

In addition to Gergely's fascination with the constant changes in American society, he was also enthralled by the dramatic social changes and events expanding the role of transportation and America's love affair with the automobile. A Year in the City is another example of his wonderment for the people and places in New York City. He enjoyed portraying the numerous scenes of everyday life in New York City.

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.

Rex Stewart's Big Seven. side 1: Cheerry; side 2: Diga Diga Do (H.R.S. [Hot Record Society] 2004).
78 rpm.

Hot Record Society was an American jazz record label, founded by Steve Smith in 1937, dedicated to reissuing out-of-print early Dixieland or traditional jazz, also referred to as “hot jazz.” The HRS original advisory board included John Hammond, Marshall Stearns, Charles Edward Smith, Wilder Hobson, Bill Russell, Charles Delaunay, Hugues Panassié, and Sinclair Traill. In addition to re-issuing records, HRS released new recordings of jazz on its own label until 1947. HRS also sold both new and used records in its mid-town Manhattan shop beginning in 1939.

side 1: Ezio Pinza with South Pacific Orchestra. Some Enchanted Evening: side 2: Juanita Hall with South Pacific Orchestra. Happy Talk (Columbia 4559-M), from the album, South Pacific (Columbia MM-850).
78 rpm.

This recording is of the Original Broadway cast for the 1949 musicalSouth Pacific, composed by Richard Rogers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. South Pacific opened at the Majestic Theatre on April 7, 1949, running for 1,925 performances. It received ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Libretto, including awards in all four acting categories for Mary Martin, Ezio Pinza, Juanita Hall, and Myron McCormick. In 1950, the musical won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Original artwork, of pages 34 and 35, for the book Let's Go Shopping with Peter and Penny, written and illustrated by Lenora Fees Combes and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1948.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1919, Lenora Fees Combes pursued a career in art and writing. She graduated from the Cleveland School of Art where she studied painting and illustration and her work was exhibited at the Chicago Museum of Art in 1940. In addition to illustrating children's books, she worked as an interior designer, painted murals and designed wallpaper. Combes also worked for a time with CBS and contributed stories to children's magazines.

Original artwork, of page 11, 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.