The Jon Whitcomb Tear Sheet Collection
This collection includes original artwork in various formats and published material by Jon Whitcomb mainly dating between the 1930s and 1950s.
Dates
- Creation: 1930-1960
- Other: Date acquired: 2018
Creator
- Whitcomb, Jon, 1906-1988 (Artist, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions to access.
Conditions Governing Use
Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies. Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.
If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)
Extent
2.00 linear feet
Biographical or Historical Information
Jon Whitcomb, born in 1906, graduated from The Ohio State University in 1928.1 Whitcomb’s parents were both artists, but even so he majored in English in college while only occasionally drawing for his school’s publications.2 He also found work painting theater posters for the Palace Theater in Cleveland, which would prove to be apt training for him to find work creating illustrations after college. By the 1930s, Whitcomb moved to New York City and founded the Cooper studio with fellow artist Al Cooper.3 During World War II, he served as a combat artist for the U.S. Navy.4
Whitcomb defined his own style and it was one he used to depict beautiful women (and sometimes men). It wasn’t long before Whitcomb made a name for himself and readers began to expect to see his glamourous subjects gracing the pages of Collier’s, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Life, to name a few.
Whitcomb had a uniquely identifiable style. He often set his subjects against a simple color background with a few sparse design elements. He used people as his main subject, allowing everything else to become part of design rather than narrative. For this reason, “Whitcomb girls” were typically dubbed as beautiful and starry-eyed.5 Whitcomb’s illustrations also included attractive hand-drawn lettering that worked to grab the reader’s interest. He was a master of his craft, not only in illustration but in the overall layout and design of his pieces.
Whitcomb also wrote and illustrated short stories that were published in Cosmopolitan: Good Sports, Beauty and the Bike, 24 Hours’ Leave (1942) and nonfictions interest pieces Las Vegas Revisited (1958), The New Monroe, and It Takes a Man to Dress a Woman (1959). He also produced two series for Cosmopolitan: Jon Whitcomb’s Page and On Location with Jon Whitcomb. Jon Whitcomb was such a prevalent illustrator in Cosmopolitan that he was published in nearly every issue from the years 1946-1959.
References
(1) https://library.osu.edu/collections/SPEC.CGA.JW/biographical-historical-note
(2) https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/jon-whitcomb
(3) https://www.societyillustrators.org/jon-whitcomb
(4) https://library.osu.edu/collections/SPEC.CGA.JW/biographical-historical-note
(5) Ibid
Note written by Andrea Degener
Arrangement Note
Items are arranged alphabetically by publishing entity and then by date.
The contents of the collection are arranged as follows:
Series 1: Tear Sheets
Sub-Series 1: Editorial Illustrations
Sub-Series 2: Advertisement Illustrations
Series 2: Prints and Proofs
Sub-Series 1: Editorial Illustrations
Sub-Series 2: Advertisement Illustrations
Method of Acquisition
The collection was donated to the Dowd Modern Graphic History Library by Fred Taraba in May 2018.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Andrea Degener in March 2020.
Creator
- Whitcomb, Jon, 1906-1988 (Artist, Person)
- Title
- The Jon Whitcomb Tear Sheet Collection
- Author
- Andrea Degener
- Date
- 03/06/2020
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
Revision Statements
- 09099999: The finding aid was entered into Archon by Caroline Riffle in February 2020.
Collecting Area Details
Part of the Dowd Illustration Research Archive Collecting Area
Andrea Degener, Interim Curator
West Campus Library
7425 Forsyth Blvd
Clayton MO 63105 US
(314) 935-5495
spec@wumail.wustl.edu