Album of 25 Pen-and-Ink Cartoons; Together with a large cabinet card photo of Hallie, and a 1984 letter written by Berryman's daughter

Berryman, Clifford K. (1869-1949)

Edité par Virginia and Washington, D.C., 1894

A propos de cet article

Oblong 12mo, 11.5 by 18 cm. The album is dedicated to Hallie, who was Berryman's sister-in-law, and the first drawing in the album is in fact a drawing of Hallie, who would from this drawing appears to have been a beauty in the Pre-Raphaelite vein. That said, the strongest impression from the album is from its five drawings caricaturing black "folk" in rural Virginia. These illustrations show their subject befuddled, simple, and/or uncouth, and bring to mind Uncle Remus. One can infer from the captioning that being depicted were the servants of Hallie. At least three other illustrations are of the farm -- its geese, the small log cabin shack which was presumably the home of black sharecroppers. White people in the country aren't exactly spared, with six or so of the illustrations poking fun at corn-pone bums or ragamuffins and others. Humor, though, isn't the only currency in this album, as shown in a number of sentimental, romantic or straightforward illustrations. Of particular interest is a self-portrait showing Berryman painting by a mountain lake. By his side is a bear wearing spectacles. This was done eight years prior to arguably Berryman's most famous cartoon, "Drawing the Line in the Mississippi", depicting Teddy Roosevelt sparing a baby bear, and the very origin of the Teddy Bear which was to become one of the most popular stuffed animals of all time. Of the sentimental illustrations, we would single out a charming silhouette of a couple riding off in a coach on a country road. In this album, Berryman steered mostly clear of the political subject matter that was his main paycheck, but there is one cartoon of political rival David B. Hill, Senator from New York, bowing to a stern Grover Cleveland, who was President at the time. Berryman was a celebrated cartoonist for "The Washington Star" from 1907 onward, when this afternoon newspaper was the leading newspaper in Washington, and for years his cartoons enjoyed a front page slot. Previously, between 1891 and 1907, Berryman worked for "The Washington Post". is 1898 cartoon "Remember the Maine" helped popularize the phrase which became the battle cry for the Spanish-American War. In 1944 he won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, crowning a career of widely read, beloved politican cartoons which gently lampooned Republicans and Democrats equally. The Corcoran Gallery repeatedly mounted exhibitions of his drawings, both during his lifetime and after. The Library of Congress and National Archives are among other venues to have exhibited Berryman's artwork. Condition: pages heavily age toned and somewhat brittle. Binding, which is a somewhat generic small blank album cover of the day, is mottled with abrasions, and the front paper pastedown along the joint is entirely perished.

N° de réf. du vendeur 006199

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Album of 25 Pen-and-Ink Cartoons; Together with a large cabinet card photo of Hallie, and a 1984 letter written by Berryman's daughter
• Éditeur: Virginia and Washington, D.C.
• Date de parution: 1894
• Reliure: Hardcover
• État de l'article: Very Good
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Black Interest
  • Americana
  • Albums and Sketchbooks
  • Humor
  • Manuscripts