Thursday, July 24, 2014

July 25: Lumberjack Day!

What a great cover from 1928, which if my records are correct was reprinted again in 1929. She's loaded with charm and what a festive ensemble Bolles has outfitted her in. And that axe may be small but it is all business. Take a look at that curve on the handle!  She may not have used that axe to hew her chair, but it could still do some serious damage in the right hands.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

July 14: Shark Awareness Day

Our man Bolles has never failed to provide art for even the most obscure of public service announcements.  In this 1929 cover, we see a lovely bathing beauty staying cool, despite Mr. Mako's menacing maw. It's a far cry from John Singleton Copley's archetypal shark attack painting where the bather fares far less well (according to the story he survived but lost a leg).  Bolles was well versed in historical art and I wonder if he may have been having a little fun at the Copley's expense. It wouldn't be the first time he alluded to a classic painting in his work.  A decade later he revisits the theme with another utterly fearless girl hanging ten on Jaws inflatable cousin.