Creator: Martin DeMuth

MARTIN SMITH DEMUTH

April 16, 1895 – March 2, 1961

In the comic book industry he is best known as a letterer and writer.

A Chronology

1900 United States Census

Name: Martin Demuth

Age: 5

Birth Date: Jan [sic] 1895

Birthplace: Ohio

Home in 1900: Cardington, Morrow, Ohio [Rail Road Street]

Race: White

Gender: Male

Relation to Head of House: Son

Marital Status: Single

Father’s Name: Smith Demuth

Father’s Birthplace: Ohio

Mother’s Name: Harriett Demuth

Mother’s Birthplace: Ohio

Household Members: 

Name / Age

Smith Demuth 52

Harriett Demuth 48

Merre Demuth 8

Martin Demuth 5

1910 United States Census

Name: Martin S Demuth

Age in 1910: 15

Birth Year: abt 1895

Birthplace: Ohio

Home in 1910: Salem Ward 3, Marion, Oregon [152 Church Street]

Race: White

Gender: Male

Relation to Head of House: Son

Marital Status: Single

Father’s Name: Smith Demuth

Father’s Birthplace: Ohio

Mother’s Name: Harriet Demuth

Mother’s Birthplace: Ohio

Household Members: 

Name / Age

Smith Demuth 61

Harriet Demuth 51

Georgia M Demuth 17

Martin S Demuth 15

Oregonian

(Portland, Oregon)

October 29, 1910

Hazing Episode to Be Explained
Salem Students Summoned to Tell Directors of Hair-Cutting Scrape.

Wrong Victim Is Sheared
Sophomores Clip Freshman’s Hair in Park and Get One Not Intended—

Sister Sees Affair and Becomes Hysterical

...Martin DeMuth is the freshman who was made the subject of attack by the students, according to the allegations. He was accompanying his sister home from school when he was seized...

(excerpt)

April 12, 1914
‘Sylvia’ Being Rehearsed
Two-Act Operetta Will Be Presented
by Lincoln High School

August 18, 1916

Portland Artist Wins
Martin DeMuth’s Drawings Accepted by College Publication.

Berkeley, Cal., Aug. 27.—(Special.)—Martin DeMuth, formerly of Lincoln High, quite well known as an artist in Portland, has made good here. After registering as a freshman, he started drawing, and beat out the old-line artists by annexing the first cover and several other drawings in the first issue of the Pelican, the college comic monthly.

World War I Draft Card

Name: Martin S Demuth

City: San Francisco [1485 Vallejo Street]

County: San Francisco

State: California

Birthplace: Ohio, United States of America

Birth Date: 16 Apr 1894

Race: Caucasian

Draft Board: 12

Age: 22

Occupation: Commercial Artist

Employer: Harry N. Stone, 520 South Broadway, Los Angeles, California

Nearest Relative: Mother

Height / Build: Tall / Medium

Color of Eyes / Hair: Brown / Brown

Signature: May 23, 1917

Oregonian

December 16, 1917

The following names were added last week to the list of Lincoln boys now in the Army or Navy, making the total number of stars on the service flag 199: ...First Lieutenant Martin DeMuth, infantry, Camp Lewis, American Lake.

Official List of Officers of the Officers’ Reserve Corps of the Army of the United States

Supplemental to Volume III

Officers Residing in—New York

September 1, 1919 to December 31, 1919

page 21: DeMuth, Martin Smith…..320 West Eighty-ninth Street, New York…Apr. 16, 1895

1920 United States Census

Name: Martin S De Muth

Age: 24

Birth Year: abt 1896

Birthplace: Ohio

Home in 1920: Manhattan Assembly District 9, New York, New York [320 West 89 Street]

Race: White

Gender: Male

Relation to Head of House: Son

Marital Status: Single

Parent’s Name: Harriet De Muth

Father’s Birthplace: Ohio

Mother’s Birthplace: Ohio

Able to read: Yes

Able to Write: Yes

Household Members: 

Name / Age

Harriet De Muth 60 [widow]

Martin S De Muth 24 [unemployed]

Leo Ratner 24

New York Evening Telegram

September 21, 1920

Award Prizes to Winners of Victory Hall Poster Contest

Competition Was Arranged as Preliminary to Public Appeal for

Funds with Which to Build Memorial to War Dead of New York

Well known artists and illustrators of this city have for several weeks been engaged in a poster competition, arranged by the Victory Hall Association as a preliminary to the public appeal for funds with which to build in Pershing Square the great utilitarian memorial to the war deed of New York city.

The winners, as selected by a jury of eminent artists and critics, are announced today by General George W. Wingate, president of the Association and the director in charge of the contest. Colonel Wade H. Hayes, until recently State Commander of the American Legion. They are:—First prize, $1,200, charles B. Falls, of No. 2 East Twenty-third street; second prize, $800, Edward Penfield, of Pelham Manor; third prize, $500, Martin S. DeMuth, of No. 61 Vermilyea avenue [Manhattan].

...Martin S. DeMuth, winner of the third prize, is a student at Columbia College and a member of the Art Students’ League. He is a graduate of the California School of Fine Arts and saw overseas service as a lieutenant in the Eighth U.S. Infantry.....

The American Printer

October 5, 1920

DeMuth was not mentioned in the article.

Popular Mechanics

June 1921

DeMuth and his Victory Hall third prize were used in the Federal Schools ad

Photoplay

October 1921

In 1925 DeMuth’s prize winning poster was reproduced on the back cover of The Federal School News. 

U.S. Army Recruiting News

July 1, 1925

To Portray Service in Pictures

Sgt. Martin S. DeMuth, of Fort McDowell, California, recently arrived in Tientsin, according to the 15th Infantry Sentinel of May 15, to acquire local color for cartoons and publicity sketches for Army periodicals and recruiting posters to be issued upon his return to the United States. Sgt. DeMuth is a poster designer and advertising man by profession. In August, 1923, while in search of experience which might furnish ideas for a newspaper car toon series, he enlisted as a private in the Army, and while 

September 1, 1925

Demuth Returns from the Orient

Sergeant Martin S. Demuth, Recruiting Service, recently arrived in San Francisco on the Army Transport Thomas, after a year’s travel in the Far East, where he made cartoon and poster sketches of the Army’s activities in the Orient.

Sergeant Demuth was a lieutenant during the World War, and after attending the California School of Fine Arts and the University of California, enlisted as a private, U.S. Army, in search of colorful experience which would furnish ideas for a newspaper cartoon series. He was stationed temporarily on several vessels of the Asiatic Squadron and was with the U.S. Army in the Philippines and China and for a while with the Marines at Pekin.

November 1, 1925

A Hop Around Oahu

December 1, 1925

comics

“Alpha Test” Employed at Tank School

Sketchettes

1926
marriage of Martin and Flora Nash; see New York Post, December 2, 1931, article

New York Passenger List

Name: Martin Demuth

Arrival Date: 12 Apr 1927

Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895

Birth Location: Ohio

Birth Location Other: Cardington

Age: 31 Years 7 Months

Gender: Male

Port of Departure: New York, New York [December 2, 1926]

Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Address in U.S.: 415 Lexington Avenue, Room 902, New York City

Ship Name: Empress of Scotland

New York Post

May 6, 1927

“Memograms” a New Medium

An innovation in ocean travel entertainment—and good will advertising— was introduced by two New York commercial artists, Martin and Flora Nash Demuth, on the world tour of the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Scotland, recently completed. Passengers received copies of about 200 sketches, drawn on shipboard from day to day over the period of four months world travel, and mimeographed by a special process devised by Mr. Demuth. The memograms, inspired by cruise activities on ship and shore, appeared as diary pages, post cards, maps, cartoon and educational sketches, to be preserved as a  record or mailed to friends from foreign ports. Some of the memograms were conceived, drawn and reproduced within an hour. the stunt earned the couple’s honeymoon tour.

Canada Passenger List

Name: Martin De Muth

Arrival Date: 19 May 1928

Port of Arrival: Quebec, Canada

Ship Name: Empress Australia

Port of Departure: Southampton, England

Age: 32

Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895

Birth Place: Ohio

Birth Country: USA
Address in U.S.: 50 West 67 Street, New York City

Gender: Male

New York Passenger Lists
Name: Martin Demuth
Arrival Date: 21 Jan 1928
Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895
Birth Location: Ohio
Birth Location Other: Cardington
Age: 32 Years 9 Months
Gender: Male
Port of Departure: Southampton, England [January 7, 1928]
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Empress of France

Address in U.S.: 50 West 67 Street, New York City

Canada Passenger List
Name: Martin Demuth

Arrival Date: 4 May 1929

Port of Arrival: Quebec, Canada

Ship Name: Empress Scotland

Port of Departure: Southampton, England

Age: 34

Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895

Birth Place: Ohio

Birth Country: USA

Gender: Male

Address in U.S.: 50 West 67 Street, New York City

New York Passenger Lists

Name: Martin S Demuth

Arrival Date: 27 Nov 1929

Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895

Birth Location: Ohio

Birth Location Other: Cardington

Age: 34

Gender: Male

Port of Departure: Quebec, Quebec [November 23, 1929]

Port of Arrival: New York, New York

Ship Name: Empress of Australia

Address in U.S.: c/o Canadian Pacific Cruises, New York

California Passenger List

Name: Martin S Demuth

Arrival Date: 30 Mar 1930

Age: 34

Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895

Birthplace: Cardington, Ohio, United States

Gender: Male

Ship Name: Empress Of Australia

Port of Arrival: San Francisco

Port of Departure: New York, New York [December 2, 1929]

Address in U.S.: c/o Canadian Pacific, New York

1930 photograph

photograph of Martin and Flora at Ancestry.com, a subscription site.

Canada Passenger List

Name: Martin Demuth

Arrival Date: 25 Apr 1931

Port of Arrival: Quebec, Canada

Ship Name: Empress France

Port of Departure: Southampton, England

Age: 35

Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895

Birth Place: Ohio

Birth Country: USA

Gender: Male
Address in U.S.: South Kent, Connecticut or C.P.R. [Canadian Pacific Railroad], New York, New York

The Fredonia Censor
(New York)
June 12, 1931
Memograms, Exclusive Canadian Pacific Feature,
Made Daily by Cruise Artist, Give Choice Information

New York Post

December 2, 1931

Unique Honeymoon Lands Couple Steady Job

Seagoing Artists, Seeking Honeymoon, Found Unique Career

Martin and Flora DeMuth Sketch Their Way Around the World

Lead a Double Life as Sailors, Farmers

Empress of Britain of Takes Them on Third World Cruise Tomorrow

By Ruth Seinfel

When the Empress of Britain sails tomorrow to Madeira and points east, not to return until she has made a circuits of the world, she will have on board a pair of clever young persons who have made an unusual job for themselves in these times when jobs are hard to find.

They are Martin and Flora DeMuth, “Mr. and Mrs.” to the passengers, who will find their days at sea and their visits to glamourous ports recorded for them in pictures by these two young artists. For the DeMuths are a seagoing art gallery whose sketches, bound in book form, are lugged out by many a traveler who has made a world cruise on the Canadian Pacific Line and wants to tell about it, to the great relief of friends who expected to have to admire the snapshots of an amateur photographer.

Mr. and Mrs. DeMuth were cudgelling their brains for ways to spend an inexpensive honeymoon, five years ago, when they hit upon the idea which has determined their unique careers for them. They had learned their craft at the Art Students’ League at the same time, but it was not until some time later, after Martin had sailed around the world with the Navy and Flora had established herself as an illustrator in New York, they met and promptly married.

The Honeymoon Problem

The problem then arose, what to do about a honeymoon? Artists are notoriously helpless in money matters, but these two were an exception. If they hadn’t money enough for a honeymoon, they had wits, and they set about using them.

On his trip with the Navy, in the service of the War Department, Mr. DeMuth had not only made the required pictorial records of naval stations in the Orient, but had hit upon the idea of amusing the crews with informal sketches of things they saw and things that happened to them. Now he and his wife developed this idea, and when they were ready to present it they took it to the Canadian Pacific office, and then went hone and waited.

Nobody has ever counted up, but if all the schemes presented to steamship companies by people who want a free trip were collected, they would probably make a set of volumes about the size of the Encyclopedia Britannica, and a good deal more fun to read. Nevertheless, an official of the line came all the way down from Montreal to talk with the DeMuths, and when he went away again their honeymoon was assured. What is more, it was to be nothing less than a world cruise.

Nor were they getting anything for nothing (the line is run almost entirely by Scotchmen). Their idea has been so successful that they are now supplying all the cruises on the line with the product of their talented pencils, and the Empress of Australia leaves New York Harbor for the West Indies today with two tons of printed matter in her hold—or wherever such supplies are kept—enough to last her for three West Indies cruises and one Mediterranean voyage.

Inventing Printing Process

The DeMuths go on board well prepared now, for they have made all the cruises on the line, and several times. They turn out post cards as they go along, and as the ship pulls into each port they distribute to each passenger a brightly decorated letter, telling about the points of interest to be seen there, and all a passenger has to do is write the address of the home folks on the envelope, put a stamp on it, and his correspondence is much more entertainingly taken care of than he could probably manage it himself.

Incidentally, they had to invent a simple, quick process for printing their drawings right on board. How they do it is their secret, but one afternoon at 4 o’clock their ship sighted a waterspout in the Strait of Messina, and at each passenger’s place at dinner that evening there was a sketch of a waterspout with full scientific explanation attached.

Ashore the DeMuths make all kinds of excursions, sketchblock [sic] in hand. They visit out-of-the-way corners, picturesque and historic spots, native shindigs. They once made a 1,000-mile trip into Africa to Victoria Falls, and on another African cruise they went into the game preserve and got stranded among the lions and elephants by a tropical storm which washed the roads out. They were rescued promptly and efficiently—it was all part of the fun.

Lead a Double Life

They know Singapore and Shanghai and all the other glamourous ports almost as well as they New York, and each passenger goes ashore with a hand-drawn map, made by the DeMuths, which is both entertaining and instructive. And at the end of the voyage they present a whole collection of sketches to each traveler, as a memento of the trip.

For five years now the DeMuths have been leading a double life. Seagoing folk for six months of the year, they spent the other six months on their farm in South Kent, Conn., being thorough landlubbers. Mrs. DeMuth couldn’t say which part of the year she liked better.

New York Passenger Lists

Name: Martin De Muth

Arrival Date: 8 Apr 1932

Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895

Birth Location: Ohio

Birth Location Other: Cardington

Age: 36

Gender: Male

Port of Departure: New York, New York [December 3, 1931]

Port of Arrival: New York, New York

Ship Name: Empress of Britain

Address in U.S.: South Kent, Connecticut

Name: Martin De Muth

Arrival Date: 11 Apr 1933

Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895

Birth Location: Ohio

Birth Location Other: Cardington

Age: 37

Gender: Male

Port of Departure: New York, New York [December 3, 1932]

Port of Arrival: New York, New York

Ship Name: Empress of Britain

Address in U.S.: South Kent, Connecticut

The Gazette

(Montreal)

December 27, 1933

Cruise Evening Occupations

...Before each port is reached, illustrated talks, with the aid of lantern slides, will be shown by the official lecturer, Martin DeMuth, of New York, in the course of which he will give interesting information concerning the country to be visited.

New York Passenger List
Name: Martin Demuth
Arrival Date: 14 May 1934
Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895
Birth Location: Ohio
Birth Location Other: Cardington
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Port of Departure: New York [January 4, 1934]
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Empress of Britain
Address in U.S.: South Kent, Connecticut

The Gazette

(Montreal)

November 16, 1934

Around the World in Ninety Minutes

Illustrated Lecture Given by Martin DeMuth for I.O.D.E. Members

Members of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, in an audience numbering nearly 400, attended an illustrated talk given under the auspice of the Municipal Chapter yesterday in Tudor Hall, the speaker being Martin DeMuth, noted traveller and lecturer. The colored lantern slides and motion pictures were of especial interest to the I.O.D.E. in relation to the Empire study project which is one of its newest activities.

The programme was many-sided and, under the chairmanship of Mrs. J.M.C. Muir, regent of the Municipal Chapter, included songs by W.J. Stephenson and an organ recital and piano accompaniments by Harold Eustace Key.

Mr. DeMuth prefaces his lecture on the world cruise of the Empress of Britain with a graceful tribute to the I.O.D.E. Montreal chapters that contributed comforts to the islanders of Tristan Da Cunha, which he had visited in 1928 and 1929. “Only those who have been ashore on that lonely spot can realize how greatly needed were the gifts that Montreal women of the I.O.D.E. sent by the Empress of France and Duchess of Atholl,” he said.

Punctuated by ripples of laughter, Mr. DeMuth’s talk was a witty running commentary upon the scenes thrown upon the screen. He admitted he was stumped when it came to trying to explain the way in which the Neapolitans put the holes in macaroni. Speaking of Bali, Mr. DeMuth said that the natives believed in three incarnations, after the third of which, if they had been good, they were sure of heaven. “Heaven, they think, is Bali, and I am inclined to believe it, too,” he observed.

One of the most entertaining scenes shown was that of a flock of ducks in Java that had been trained to obey a flag-decked stick. “They will stay close to this all day,” the speaker said, “while their owner goes about his business.”

According to Mr. DeMuth, who has cruised some 300,000 miles in the last eight years, the women of Bali, despite their unconventional attire, are among the most modest to be found anywhere. “A funeral in Bali,” he said, “is quite a matter for rejoicing, people put on their gayest costumes and have a really good time.”

In closing his ninety-minute talk, Mr. DeMuth advised his audience, since time would not permit him to go into as much detail as he would like, to read a book written by a Montrealer. “—and Ships—and Scaling Wax” is the title,” he said, “and the book is by Mr. Alan Irwin, who made the cruise with me last year.”

Mrs. Wellington Dixon, former vice-regent of the Municipal Chapter, I.O.D.E., in moving a vote of appreciation to Mr. DeMuth, made a happy reference to the opening songs, “Mandalay” and “For To Admire And For To See,” which she said, “attuned us to what was to follow.” She coupled the names of Messers. Stephenson and Harold Eustace Key in the vote.

California, Passenger List

Name: Martin Demuth

Arrival Date: 5 May 1935

Age: 39

Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895

Birthplace: Cardington, Ohio, United States

Gender: Male

Ship Name: Empress of Britain

Port of Arrival: San Pedro and Los Angeles

Port of Departure: New York [January 10, 1935]

Address in U.S.: South Kent, Connecticut

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

December 26, 1937

Canadian Pacific Lists Guides for Its World Cruise

Names of the men and women who will be guides, philosophers and friends to this Winter’s globe-trotting tourists aboard the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Britain have just been announced here. The Empress sails on her world cruise from New York on Jan. 8 and this season will include Australia and New Zealand in her itinerary.

…The following members will complete the staff of assistant cruise directors, who among them have accumulated many years of cruise experience:

…Martin and Flora DeMuth of New York...

New York Passenger Lists

Name: Martin De Muth
Arrival Date: 18 May 1936
Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895
Birth Location: Ohio
Birth Location Other: Cardington
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Port of Departure: New York, New York [January 7, 1936]
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Port Arrival State: New York
Port Arrival Country: United States
Ship Name: Empress of Britain

Address in U.S.: South Kent, Connecticut

Name: Martin Demuth
Arrival Date: 14 May 1937
Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895
Birth Location: Ohio
Birth Location Other: Cardington
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Port of Departure: New York, New York [January 9, 1937]
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Port Arrival State: New York
Port Arrival Country: United States
Ship Name: Empress of Britain

Address in U.S.: South Kent, Connecticut

The Kingston Daily Freeman

(New York)

October 28, 1937

Martin DeMuth, world traveler and sketch artist, presented an interesting travelogue in assembly on Tuesday. Mr. and Mrs. DeMuth have just returned from their seventh round the world trip. Mrs. DeMuth, who is also an artist, helps her husband write the travelogue given daily to passengers on the Empress of Britain....The artists expect to make another trip this January. If war conditions in Europe and Asia should prevent this, they will visit Australia and the islands surrounding that continent.

New York Passenger Lists
Name: Martin Demuth
Arrival Date: 16 May 1938
Birth Date: 16 Apr 1896
Birth Location: Ohio
Birth Location Other: Cardington
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Port of Departure: New York, New York [January 8, 1938]
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Port Arrival State: New York
Port Arrival Country: United States
Ship Name: Empress of Britain
Address in U.S.: “On the Rocks” South Kent, Connecticut

Name: Martin Demuth

Arrival Date: 3 Sep 1939

Birth Date: abt 1895

Birth Location: Ohio

Birth Location Other: Cardington

Age: 44

Gender: Male

Port of Departure: Montreal, Quebec

Port of Arrival: New York, New York

Ship Name: Duchess of Richmond

Address in U.S.: P.O. Box 53, South Kent, Connecticut

1940 United States Federal Census

Name: Martin Demuth

Respondent: Yes

Age: 45

Estimated Birth Year: abt 1895

Gender: Male

Race: White

Birthplace: Ohio

Marital Status: Married

Relation to Head of House: Head

Home in 1940: Kent, Litchfield, Connecticut

Street: South Kent School Road

Farm: No

Inferred Residence in 1935: Kent, Litchfield, Connecticut

Residence in 1935: Same House

Number of Household in Order of Visitation: 166

Occupation: Artist/Railroad Company

House Owned or Rented: Owned

Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented: 2500

Attended School or College: No

Highest Grade Completed: College, 2nd year

Duration of Unemployment: 26

Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker in Government work

Weeks Worked in 1939: 40

Income: 600

Income Other Sources: No

Household Members: 

Name / Age

Martin Demuth 45

Flora N Demuth 44

Johannah E Jones 18

New York Sun

February 22, 1941

Media.

Martin and Flora DeMuth, illustrated-letter specialists, on leave from Canadian-Pacific Cruises, are now working with Radio City Letter Service. Mr. and Mrs. DeMuth in 1926 originated Memograms, a combination of travel entertainment and advertising used on C.P. cruises for thirteen seasons. The artist took eight world cruises on the Empress of Britain, recently lost in action. Their drawings, sketched on ship and shore, were reproduced at sea in the form of illustrated letters, decorated mailing envelopes, souvenir menus, maps, [illegible], before arriving at ports of call, for use by passengers.

World War II Draft Card

Name: Martin Smith Demuth

Birth Date: 16 Apr 1895

Birth Place: Cardington, Ohio

Residence: Litchfield, Connecticut [PO Box 53, South Kent]

Race: White

Age: 47

Occupation: Funnies, Inc.

Nearest Relative: 

Height/Build: 5' 10" / 198 lbs

Color of Eyes/Hair: Hazel/Gray

Signature: April 27, 1942

The Kingston Daily Freeman

October 3, 1942

Martin DeMtuh, artist and lecturer, will speak on the topic, “Our Allies,” in assembly Tuesday morning, October 6, at the New Paltz State Teachers’ College.

Ten trips around the world, visiting all of the countries which are included in the United Nations and studying the characteristics of their people, have provided De Muth with an insight into the people who are fighting for democracy’s cause around the globe.

Mr. De Muth is a graduate of the Art Students League of New York, the California School of Fine Arts and studied at the University of California and Columbia University. He left college to enter the World War where he saw overseas action with the 8th U.S. Infantry. He left the service with the rank of captain.

An assignment by the War Department in 1924–25 consisted of making some sketches in the Orient started De Muth on world wide travels. His talent for sketching combined with his interest in foreign  places won for him an assignment with the Canadian Pacific cruises.

De Muth was official lecturer on 12 such cruises, gave publicity lectures ashore, edited newspaper at sea and conducted special cruise director training courses and made official films for Canadian Pacific.

His splendid lectures illustrated by motion pictures and his gay drawings bring a new interest in our Allies and the lands from which those who are fighting side-by-side with the American doughboys.

October 13, 1942
Lecturer Is Heard

Martin DeMuth, artist, lecturer, and world traveler, talked to the students and faculty in the assembly program on Tuesday, October 4. Mr. DeMuth has traveled in some 60 countries and has talked to over 3,000 natives. In keeping with this changing world, Mr. DeMuth displayed a new map projection which is being introduced in schools this fall, the solar map projection. The rest of the program was devoted to the showing of motion pictures of the island of Bali, India, Ceylon, Singapore, Hongkong, Philippines, Java and Australia.

Will Eisner: A Dreamer’s Life in Comics

Michael Schumacher

Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010

page 96: (excerpt)

The Spirit weekly section, as written by Bill Woolfolk and penciled and inked by Lou Fine in Eisner’s absence, was still being produced in Connecticut at the Quality Comics offices, and it continued that way while Eisner settled into his new office and hired a skeleton staff capable of assisting him with the feature. Martin DeMuth, who had been lettering The Spirit since December 1942, was retained in the same capacity; but Lou Fine, who wanted to go into commercial art, was out. He was replaced by John Spranger, who penciled over Eisner’s layouts and rough pencils while Eisner himself did most of the inking and coloring. Compared with the staff Eisner had been working with at his old Tudor City studio, this was a small group, but Eisner was comfortable with it—enough so that he’d never again employ so large a staff to work on The Spirit section.

Alter Ego
Volume 3, Number 12
“Quality Control”
A Conversation with Gill Fox – Artist, Writer, and Editor (1940-43) of Quality Comics Group
(scroll down to “X. Still More Men of Quality”, just below the drawing of the Black Condor)

Jim Amash: Martin DeMuth.
Gill Fox: He was an older man. He lettered without ruling. It astounded me! The only guy who topped him was Ben Oda...

Manhattan, New York City Telephone Directory

May 1948
Demuth Flora Nash  42PkAv [42 Park Avenue]  MUryhil  6-0792

Alter Ego #107, February 2012
Flora and Martin DeMuth, July 11, 1952

 party for Fawcett editor Will Lieberson

The New York Times

March 6, 1961

Death Notice

DeMuth—Martin, of South Kent, Conn., March [2], after a short illness; survived by his wife, Mrs. Flora Nash DeMuth. Services Monday, March 6, 2:30 P.M., Bull Funeral Home, Kent, Conn. Cremation at the Ferncliff Crematory, Hartsdale, N.Y. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Heart Fund for research.

The Harlem Valley Times

(Amenia, New York)

March 9, 1961

Martin DeMuth, South Kent, 65, died at New Milford Hospital on Thursday after a short illness. He was a well-known artist, lecturer and world traveler.

He was born in Cardington, Ohio, April 16, 1895, son of the late Smith DeMuth and Harriet (White) DeMuth.

Mr. DeMuth is survived by his wife, Flora Nash DeMuth, South Kent, who is also an artist. He also leaves several nieces and nephews.

He made South Kent his home since 1930. He was a member of the Kent Art Association, the Town Plan commission and a former member of the New York Society of Illustrators.

Funeral services were held at the Ralph Bull Funeral Home, Kent, Monday, at 2:30 p.m. with Rev. David Pyle officiating. Cremation will take place at the Fern Cliff crematory, Hartsdale, N.Y.

Grand Comics Database

Martin’s comic book credits

Toronto Postcard Club

The Canadian Pacific “Memogram” postcards

Memogram artwork and profiles of Martin and Flora

Who’s Who in American Comic Books 1928–1999

overview of Martin’s comic book career

Volcanito: A Fairy Tale of Today

Flora Nash DeMuth

Vantage Press, 1969

(from the dust jacket)

About the Author

Flora Nash DeMuth is a free-lane artist who was born in Pennsylvania and went to high school in Binghamton, N.Y., where she graduated as class poetess and salutatorian. She attended Syracuse University and later studied at the Art Students’ League in New York, being quickly elected to the N.Y. Society of Illustrators. “But life really began,” she writes, “when I met Martin DeMuth, a roving artist just returned from the Orient. While visiting U.S. military stations on special assignment for the War Department, he had originated a plan for illustrating, aboard ship, the commercial world cruises of the fabulous era just starting.”

After their marriage, the DeMuths sold their plan to Canadian Pacific Steamships and enjoyed what the author calls “a most unusual honeymoon, aboard the SS Empress of Scotland. It was, surely, the first seagoing artist’s studio to circle the globe.”

Thus began fourteen winters of sailing the “seven seas,” illustrating the world and its people, while Martin DeMuth also gained an international reputation as a World Cruise Lecturer. Then World War II literally took the ships right out from under their feet. “Landlubbers” again, they turned their talents in other directions in the New York art field and continued developing a small estate in Connecticut.

After DeMuth succumbed to a sudden heart attack in 1961, Mrs. DeMuth moved to Hawaii, those favorite islands often visited on their travels, where she now lives near Honolulu.

Social Security Death Index
Name: Flora Demuth
SSN: 707-01-5296
Last Residence: 96822 Honolulu, Honolulu, Hawaii
Born: 7 Sep 1888
Died: Aug 1976
State (Year) SSN issued: Railroad Board

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