Boys' Life Magazine, June 1965: "The Image"

     Many of Walter DuBois Richards' illustrations were composed in black and white, like the one below.  This may be a lithograph, or at least drawn in lithographic crayon.  However, it is probably done in pen and ink or even pencil.    
     In this illustration, Wally does a good job finding the essence of the harrowing experience of the hunter that this short story is based on: escaping a forest fire.  

Boys' Life, June 1965.  Story "The Image" by A.B. Guthrie Jr.  

     The story seems rather fanciful.  A hunter in Lolo Forest outside Missoula, Montana finds himself running from a raging forest fire, only to discover he is being followed by a trail of wildlife; a grizzly, a bull elk, two black bears, a mule deer, a snowshoe rabbit, and two fool hens.  
     Whether or not it is true, the short story is entertaining enough to keep the reader reading on.  Written by A.B. Guthrie Jr..  

A Great Source For WWII Posters by Michael E. Moss

     Michael E. Moss was the curator at the prestigious West Point Museum in the 1970s and published this short but fascinating anthology of World War II Posters.  The title is "Posters For Victory: The American Home Front and World War II, Posters From The West Point Museum."  In it he includes brief essays about the various subjects and intentions of the posters that were published in the United States during the war.  On a select few he includes colorful commentary and thoughts.  Although the posters are all printed in black and white, it offers insight on Wally's work I haven't found anywhere else, making it an invaluable source.  


     Walter DuBois Richards made at least two posters during World War II that I know of.     

     This exciting poster showcases an Army artillery unit in action and was "one of the more popular and well designed posters [of WWII]" according to Moss.  Published by the Office Of War Information in 1943, "Housewives... Save Waste Fats For Explosives" is both entertaining and informational.  Click here for the color version of this poster. 
   
     In Framingham, Massachusetts there exists one of the greatest private collections of WWII artifacts in the World.  Called Museum Of World War II, you must be over 18 years of age (they will make exceptions) and must obtain special permission just to access its halls.  In it you will find a bronze bust of Hitler that General Patton owned and trained his dog to urinate on.  The stains can clearly be seen streaking down Hitler's forehead.  
     Like the vast majority of the artifacts in the Museum, the bust is not behind an acrylic pane, instead it is on an eye level pedestal, and the visitor is free to get as close as he/she comfortably wants to.  The Museum is built on trust and the assumption that the visitors will be respectful and careful.  Which explains why no High - School field trip is allowed in.  
     There is an actual Sherman tank that still has sand from the African Desert in its metal crevasses and joints.  (Notice the various guns you can pick up and inspect.)  Just about every country that participated in the Great War is represented with separate rooms dedicated to propaganda, weaponry, correspondence, for each country.  It is a truly breath-taking collection.   
     It was at this museum I first saw this poster, "They've got more important places to go than you!... Save Rubber, Check Your Tires Now."  

     What a thrill it was to see it in such a remarkable and prestigious collection.  The poster was published by the Office Of Emergency Management, date unknown. 
     For a color version of this poster, click here. 

A personal note from the Author of "Posters For Victory"

"Tin Fish... from the sky!" A 1943 Illustration for Pontiac.

     One way I've discovered previously unknown illustrations my Grandfather produced has been by looking over scanned pages of Life Magazine on Google Docs.  It is quite impressive; Google has uploaded virtually every page of every Life Magazine, published by-weekly, since at least the late-1930s (where I started looking).  
     It's a tedious process, requiring a careful examination of each page with an illustration, and by the 1940s, at least half of all advertisements were still drawn (not photographed).   
     This was the first illustration I found by Walter DuBois Richards.  It appeared May 3, 1943 on page 78.  At the time, Wally was an illustrator at the Charles E. Cooper Studio in New York City.

     What a thrill, I had no idea he made such exciting war-time illustrations.  


     At first glance, the focus here seems to be the United States Navy's Torpedo Bomber, the Grumman TBF-1 Avenger, attacking what appears to be a Japanese Aircraft Carrier in the South Pacific.  The carrier looks similar to the Akagi, but in it's pre-WWII deck configuration. By 1939, Akagi had one long deck that extended from the bow to the stern.  
     In fact, this illustration is a short action piece illustrating the torpedo specifically.  According to this write-up, they were mass produced by Pontiac, a division of General Motors, throughout World War II.

     The aerial weapon illustrated here was probably a Bliss - Leavitt Mark 13 torpedo, the torpedo of choice for the Navy Avenger.     

Click to see larger version.

  

Hopefully, if I've designed this blog correctly, you should be able to click on any of the images in this blog to view them in a larger size on Flickr.  I've included the dialog from the illustration here so that you can click on it and read a larger, clearer version of it.  If I become more ambitious, I'll add the dialog from the illustration to the blog itself, since it is an entertaining mini-action story of the illustration Wally made.  

LifeGuard Safety Tubes - A Goodyear Tire Commercial from 1947

      Over a several year period following WWII, Wally did a series of advertisements for Goodyear's product, the LifeGuard Safety Tube.  This one appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in November of 1947.  According to this startling advertisement, the LifeGuard Safety Tube could save your life should you blow out a tire driving along a narrow cliff-ridged icy road in Minnesota.  Considering safety standards in your average car in the 1940s, I should think even at 25 mph a tire blowout could have more serious consequences than today, no matter what the scenario.  After a (very) brief online search, it appears that Goodyear first introduced this extra-tube-in-a-tire in 1934 and it evolved into a variety of products over the next half-century.

     Wally made several of these commercials featuring these 'BANG' scenarios, but I found this one a bit amusing.  Can somebody explain why these hunters are using a red sedan with no rack for a hunting trip?  

The 1955 Ford Fairlane Sunliner, Custom Ranch Wagon and Fairlane Victoria

   My father and I have come across literally hundreds of magazine clippings that either Wally or his wife, Glenny had saved for posterity.  In some cases my father had scribbled down information on accompanying yellow sticky-notes offering up interesting insights about that particular illustration.  Turns out Walter was a work horse within his industry, publishing sometimes a dozen illustrations in a month, year round, for decades.  

Walter DuBois Richards did quite a bit of work for many classic automobile manufacturers over the years: Packard, Mercury, Cadillac and Ford, to name a few.

Several 55 Fords are illustrated in this one page commercial, the red Custom Ranch Wagon in the background, the stunning yellow and black Fairlane Sunliner with the pretty Blondie in front, and the Fairlane Victoria below.  

   The yellow note explains that Glenora had saved this particular Ford commercial because she had helped Wally mix the colors for it (and did this often for Wally's illustrations.)  This could sound surprising, until you learn that Glenora Case Richards was a celebrated artist herself, who made a name for herself in Miniature art, and also produced some commercial art.