First edition, one of 26 lettered copies bound thus and with colophon signed by the authors. Frank E. Schoonover (1877-1972) is recognized as one of the foremost and prolific illustrators of his time. His contribution to American illustration spanned over 40 years and included more than 2200 illustrations. His work appeared in most of the popular periodicals in the first half of the twentieth century, including Harpers, Scribner's, Saturday Evening Post American Boy, Country Gentleman...
More DescriptionFirst edition, one of 26 lettered copies bound thus and with colophon signed by the authors. Frank E. Schoonover (1877-1972) is recognized as one of the foremost and prolific illustrators of his time. His contribution to American illustration spanned over 40 years and included more than 2200 illustrations. His work appeared in most of the popular periodicals in the first half of the twentieth century, including Harpers, Scribner's, Saturday Evening Post American Boy, Country Gentleman and Colliers, as well as in over 150 books, particularly children's classics and contemporary fiction by such authors as Jack London, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Clarence Mulford, Lucy Foster Madison, James Willard Schultz and Zane Grey. His iconic images of Hopalong Cassidy, Blackbeard, Jean LaFitte, Jim Bridger, Robinson Crusoe, Hans Brinker, Gulliver, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Joan of Arc remain a testimony of his creative, artistic ability.Born in Oxford, New Jersey in 1877, Schoonover eventually attended Drexel Institute in Philadelphia where he was taught by the quintessential American illustrator, Howard Pyle. Also, the young artist was chosen to attend Pyle's summer school in Chadds Ford. With Pyle's help, Schoonover initiated his illustrative career in 1899 with four en grisaille oil paintings for the book, Jersey Boy in the Revolution. He numbered them #1-4 as he began recording his works in the remarkable daybooks, a chronological, detailed account that he maintained for his entire career. The artist traveled widely in the United States and Canada giving him a unique perspective and a rich reservoir of experiences, which he incorporated into many works. He subsequently became recognized as the expert on the indigenous tribes of the Hudson Bay area. When the popularity of illustration waned in the 1940s, Schoonover turned to landscapes and commissioned works including designs for magnificent stained glass windows. He was also a sought-after, accomplished art teacher for twenty-five years.