April 24 is Dancing Day, courtesy of Enoch Bolles!

 

After too long an absence we are back to celebrate another day that was meant for our man Enoch. This terrific cover image from a 1926 issue of Snappy Stories is special on several levels. First, it's a toe-tapping depiction of today's celebration of Dancing day. And while searching the Bolles files for the perfect image it dawned on me that there were more dancing themed covers in Snappy Stories  than any other magazine for which Bolles painted the cover art (Snappy Stories should not to be confused with the later Snappy magazine, which was so ably covered by the other pinup EB, Earle Bergey). Second, it's a rare example of a Bolles girl sharing the spotlight with her beau. And again, Snappy Stories ranks number one in depictions of couples, out paring all the other magazines Bolles worked for combined. Third and most important, this unedited image was taking directly from a proof of the cover that was once in Enoch's own hands. Proofs are test prints done before the magazine went into press. They were made using a higher quality process and printed done on paper superior to the actual magazine. So unless the original painting shows up some day (fingers crossed), this is the closest we'll come to the original image. And stay tuned, this is not the only example in the Bolles archive!