John Held, Jr. (1889-1958) was an illustrator who was very popular during the 1920's, with charming characterizations of jazz-babies and flapper girls. He did many illustrations and covers for Life, Vanity Fair, and the New Yorker, et al.
Hold 'Em, 1925
The Faded Blonde, Life magazine, ca. 1925
The Girl Said No film poster, 1930, Swedish release
The Vegetable (or From President to Postman), F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1923
Freshman Number/Sweet Sexteen, Life Magazine, September 30, 1926
The Girl Who Went for a Ride in a Balloon, Life magazine, January 14, 1926. Love those shoes!
Came across this post via a search for cover images of Fitzgerald's The Vegetable. John Held jr's third wife was my great aunt Margaret Bolten (née Janes) Held. John died the year I was born so I never knew him, but spent a good deal of time with Aunt Marge. She was a wonderful person, funny and good natured. Her small NYC then CT apartment was full of things made by John. In addition to the illustrations he was best known for, he had a very distinct mastery with watercolor and did many cityscapes of NYC. He also created and painted folk art furniture - and miniature (dollhouse sized) reproductions of them, which I adored playing with as a child and was lucky enough to inherit them after Marge's death.
ReplyDeleteThat's very cool! Thank you for sharing!
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