Bradley, Will (William Henry), 1868-1962
[The Blue Lady], The Chap-Book, [August] 1894. Lithograph poster (59
x44 cm.) advertising The Chap-Book, a literary magazine published by
Stone and Kimball, Chicago. Lawrence J. Gutter Collection of Chicagoana
Special Collections Department Richard J. Daley Library
The illustration for the University of
Illinois Library's 2002 holiday card represents some of the major strengths
of the University Library, particularly its special
collections on Chicago history, the city's legacy of literature
and art, and design.
Will Bradley is the artist who designed the Blue Lady for the cover
of the Stone and Kimball publication The Chap-Book. The Chap-Book,
subtitled "A Miscellany & Review of Belles Lettres," was published in
Chicago from 1894-1898.
The Blue Lady that appears on the 2002
holiday greeting is a poster from the University Library's Lawrence
J. Gutter Collection of Chicagoana. The Gutter Collection, housed in
the Richard J. Daley Special Collections department, is a collection
of about 9,000 items including the following:
- some 50 items printed in Chicago prior to 1851
- 348 Chicago imprints from 1851 to 1871
- an extensive range of materials related to Chicago railroads
- literary holdings featuring collections of works by Chicago authors
and novels set in Chicago
- maps, including J.S. Wright's map of 1834 (the second separately printed
map of Chicago) and the Rees and Rucker map of 1849
- a manuscript section that includes correspondence of prominent Chicagoans
Stone and Kimball Posters
In August 1894, the publishing firm of Stone and Kimball opened offices
in Chicago. Herbert S. Stone and Hannibal Ingalls Kimball were native
Chicagoans who had started a small publishing operation in Cambridge
while enrolled at Harvard. They were cosmopolitan and well-versed in
European artistic and literary trends. In their Green Tree Library,
a publisher's series with distinct green bindings, they sought to bring
together the contemporary work of the European "decadents"
such as Maeterlinck and Ibsen. The first issue of their little magazine,
The Chap-Book, appeared on May 15, 1894. It contains a commissioned
drawing by Aubrey Beardsley.
The Chap-Book was a finely printed, small format
literary periodical with avant-garde illustrations. It served as a vehicle
to advertise their publications and promote their authors. At its inception,
Stone and Kimball began to do further advertising by commissioning posters
for The Chap-Book as well as individual titles. A total of fourteen
Chap-Book posters were listed in the issue of December 1, 1896. Although
Chicago was a major center for printing and distribution, Stone and
Kimball created an innovative marketing scheme through their magazine,
the posters, and regularly scheduled teas and other events held in their
offices.
In 1869, the Frenchman Jules Cheret made advances in
the art of color lithography and began applying this technique to outdoor
advertising. The genre swept through Europe, notably France, Belgium,
and England, riding the tide of the art nouveau and arts and crafts
movements. The English illustrator Walter Crane probably introduced
the artistic poster to America in 1890 when he visited the U.S. Stone
and Kimball commissioned Will Bradley to do their first poster, The
Twins, for the first Chap-Book issue in the spring of 1894.
Collecting posters already was popular in France by 1884. The idea was
promoted in the U.S. by Edward Penfield who began designing a series
of posters for Harper's Magazine in April 1893. Stone and Kimball were
aware of Penfield and trends in poster collection in Europe. They commissioned
designers, notably Will Bradley, Claude Fayette Bragdon, Frank Hazenplug,
E. B. Bird, J.C. Leyendecker, Felix Vallotton and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec,
to do posters as well as illustrations, cover designs and decorations
for their publications. In the January 15, 1895 issue of The Chap-Book,
Stone and Kimball announced their particular interest in the poster
genre by stating, "Owing to the demand for Chap-Book posters, the publishers have reserved a few copies for collectors, for fifty cents each." They began importing European posters by Cheret, Grasset, Toulouse-Lautrec,
and others, and adversiting them for sale. The list in the October 1,
1895 issue of The Chap-Book includes 156 different posters.
As well as starting a little magazine craze in the
U.S., the firm of Stone and Kimball gave a strong impetus to the American
poster movement and modern graphic design. The partnership dissolved
in 1897 due to disagreements and an over-extension of resources. They
did not advertise any new posters after 1896, but, until 1902, continued
to commission posters for Stone and Kimball books and books of the succeeding
firm of Herbert S. Stone & Co.
The Gutter Collection holds eight Chap-Book posters
and two book posters, one of which advertises the Green Tree Library.
Special Collections has a nearly complete run of the publications of
the firms of Stone and Kimball and Herbert S. Stone & Co., including
all Chap-Book issues.
References
Gallo, Max. The Poster in History. New York: American Heritage, 1973.
Daley Library - Book Stacks NC1810 .G3413 1974
Hutchison, Harold F. The Poster. London: Studio Vista, 1968. Daley Library
- Book Stacks NC1810 .H8 1968b
Kauffer, E. McKnight. The Art of the Poster. London: Cecil Palmer, 1924.
Daley Library - Book Stacks * NC1810 .K3
Koch, Robert. "Artistic books, periodicals and posters of the 'gay
nineties,'" Art Quarterly, v.25, n.4 (Winter1962). Daley Library
- Periodicals/2nd floor south-Call Number Area N1 .A64
Kramer, Sidney. A History of Stone & Kimball and Herbert S. Stone
& Co. Chicago: Norman W. Forgue, 1940. Daley Library - Book Stacks
Z473.S88 K9 1940a
Margolin, Victor. American Poster Renaissance. New York: Watson-Guptill,
1975. Daley Library - Book Stacks * NC1807.U5 A43 1975
Metzl, Ervine. The Poster. New York: Watson-Guptilll, 1963.
Museum of Modern Art. Word and Image. New York: Museum of Modern Art,
1968. Daley Library - Book Stacks NC1820 .N37
Will Bradley (1868-1962)
Will (William Henry) Bradley's long career encompassed work as a designer,
typographer and art director. Between 1893 and 1898, he was recognized
as the leading art nouveau draftsman in the U.S. and was often referred
to as the "American Beardsley." He is credited with designing the first
art nouveau poster in America, The Twins, for The Chap-Book,
in 1894. Saturday Evening Post called him the "dean of American designers."
Bradley was born in Boston and resettled in Ishpeming,
Michigan, in his youth. From age eleven to sixteen, he worked on the
Ishpeming daily paper as printer's devil and then shop foreman, doing
typesetting, layout and lettering. At the instigation of Frank Bromley,
a Chicago painter, Bradley took employment in the art and engraving
department of Rand, McNally & Co. In 1887, he left to become a typesetter
for the publishing firm of Knight & Leonard, also of Chicago. After
two years, he set himself up as a freelance designer. Several of his
pieces were exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago,
1893). For that event, he was commissioned by W. Irving Way to design
the cover for the official peom, Harriet Monroes's Columbian Age. His
first important commission, eighteen cover designs for the Inland
Printer (1894-1896) followed.
In the spring of 1894, Stone and Kimball commissioned
him to do their first poster. He designed seven Chap-Book posters
plus the poster, title page, decorations and binding for their edition
of When Hearts Are Trumps (1894). Late in 1894, Bradley moved to Springfield,
Massachusetts, but continued to accept commissions from Stone and Kimball
through 1896.
In Springfield, Bradley did freelance designing and
established the Wayside Press where he produced his own little magazine,
Bradley: His Book (1897). In 1898, he sold his press to the University
Press at Cambridge, and opened a design service in New York. There he
did work for Ladies Home Journal, Collier's, Good Housekeeping,
Century, and various Hearst publications. He did typographic
layout for a number of New York newspapers and publications until his
retirement in 1930.
Bradley's Chap-Book posters indicate his interest
in both arts and crafts and are nouveau styles. The Blue Lady was Bradley's
second design for The Chap-Book and shows the influence of Aubrey Beardsley,
as does most of his work for Stone and Kimball. He frequently used the
"whiplash line" and the juxtaposition of dark and light masses
that became standard in art nouveau designs. His work is unique and
is characterized by restraint and strength of purpose when compared
to Beardsley's style. Bradley's typographic components are completely
original compared to William Morris' or Beardsley's. He ceased to work
in the art nouveau style after a few years and later recalled it as
"a period of over-ornamentation and bad taste."
Back
to 2002 Holiday Greetings Page
