Wednesday advertising day.
Continuing my look into the advertising art of the Johnstone and Cushing company. Last week I noted that the Peter Pain and Neddy Nestlé ads looked a lot alike to me. One was signed Betts and the other looked like Lee Elias. This week I found another Nesté ad, which was signed Betts as well. It looks slightly different to the other one, but it's similar enough to cast some serieous doubt on my Lee Elias attribution.
Anyway, enjoy the. The Peter Pain series ran for a long time. My samples here come from 1950 to 1955. But I have aothers from 1956 and 1957, which I may show later. The quality of the art dropped during it's run, which can already be seen in the 1955 one.
I had another look at the Johnstone and Cushing article in Hogan's Alley #11, but I couldn't find any reference to Betts or either of these campaigns. It did allow me to identify some work by Greg Fleissel, which I'll get around to when I scan some of the more realistic newspaper ads.
In his reply Hogan's Ally editor Tom Heintjes gives the link to the Johnstone and Cushing article I mentioned, which is available online. I recommend it highly.
2 comments:
Hi, Ger--
Yes, that article (which I wrote) could have easily been expanded into a book. (Incidentally, it's online.)They employed so many cartoonists and work on so many campaigns that I necessarily had to narrow my focus. But it's a fascinating period, both in cartooning and on Madison Avenue. I dearly hope someone attempts an even more extensive examination of the studio's legacy!
Tom,
Glad to see you here. I will be showing lots more of these comic ads, so if there is anything you can ad when you see them, please write in.
I encourage everyone to use the link and read the article. It's short but informative. I get the impression it wasn't so much an article as a condensation of talks to three of the most important still living Johnstone and Cushing artists... Fleissel, Schreuer and Fox (who has since died). I have to do all my research from across the atlantic, so I often haven't go the direct acces to these artists. I would like to point out that some of the other Johnstone artists are still alove. Anyone who wants to d a bigger piece on that company should really hurry.
Oh and Tom, keep your eye out for more on Hank Ketcham and my piece on Betsy and Me in a couple of weeks.
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