Monday, April 22, 2024

Comics: Corinne Boyd Dillon, Illustrator

Corinne Boyd Dillon was born on January 23, 1885, in Louisville, Kentucky according to her Social Security application at Ancestry.com. She was the only child of Michael Edward Dillon and Loula Rees, both Irish immigrants. In the 1880 United States Census, the couple were Louisville residents at 205 Third Street. Dillon’s father was in the dry goods business. 

Young Wings was a book club publication for young adults. The August 1949 issue published a profile of Dillon who said in part
I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, where my ancestors migrated soon after Daniel Boone opened the way. My parents left Kentucky when I was still a child, and we spent some years in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York, which finally became our home. Here I studied art under the famous C. V. Sanborn. My work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, and books. 
The 1900 census counted Dillon and her mother in Manhattan, New York City at 33 West 65th Street. Dillon was an art student. 


The 45th Cooper Union Annual Report, May 28, 1904, listed the recipients of diplomas and prizes. In the Woman’s Art School, Dillon received the silver medal in Drawing for Illustration. On May 29, 1904, the New York Herald and New York Tribune reported the commencement of Cooper Union. The school’s president presented the prizes and diplomas. Dillon received a silver medal. A profile of Dillon appeared in the Denver Post, July 31, 1904. 


Dillon was featured in Broadway Magazine, September 1904, “The Girl Art Student in New York”. 

In the 1905 New York state census, Dillon and her parents were residents of the Bronx at 688 East 138th Street. Dillon was an artist. 


On October 19, 1909, Dillon returned to New York from London. 

The 1910 census counted Dillon and her parents in Manhattan at 2 West 101st Street. Dillon was an artist in the theatre trade. 


Some of her early work appeared in The Graphic, July 9, 1910; The Housewife, November 1910; Woman’s Home Companion, January 1912, November 1912 and October 1913; and The Designer, February 1914. 

Dillon’s father passed away on May 14, 1913. Almost a year later, her mother passed away on March 1, 1914. Both were laid to rest at Owenton IOOF Cemetery. 

In Young Wings, Dillon said 
At the end of World War I, my husband and I went to France, living there for four years. In Paris I bought Poilu, an Alsatian shepherd dog. He was a real person with a keen sense of fun. He lived to be over thirteen years old.

Another pet which lived to great age was my canary. He would fly to the top of my head whenever he was let out of the cage. He scorned the small bird bath, plainly showing his preference for a soup plate, where he could get a thorough drenching. That done, he would flutter up to my shoulder, and there he would shudder, shake his wings, preen, and perk until quite dry. If I turned to look at him while he was making his toilet, he would give me a peck on the cheek, as if to say, “Privacy, please.” 
Her marriage was mentioned in The Story of Martha Washington (1954). Apparently Dillon married Ernest Eugene Adt before his signed his World War I draft card on June 5, 1917. Adt was a fashion artist who worked for the Butterick Company. The couple lived in Manhattan at 127 West 82nd Street. The date and place of their marriage is not known. 


On August 8, 1919, Dillon and Adt applied for a passport. Their application was accompanied by a letter from Butterick confirming their assignment. Dillon stated her birth year as 1890 instead of 1885. 




A passenger list recorded the October 2, 1919 arrival in Liverpool, England. Dillon’s first name was listed erroneously as Connie.


On February 8, 1922, Dillon was aboard the steamship Aquitania when it arrived in the Port of New York from Southampton. The passenger list said her address was Plainfield, New Jersey. 

Dillon has not been found in the 1925 New York state census. 

Her career was primarily in magazine illustration. Dillon’s clients included Cosmopolitan here and here; The Ladies’ Home Journal; McClure’s Parents’ Magazine here  and here; Photoplay; The Saturday Evening Post; Smart Set; and This Week

Dillon’s book jacket for May Fair: The Ace of Cads and Other Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1925. 


The Eastern Edition of Advertising Arts and Crafts, Volume II (1926) listed Dillon at 1060 Park Avenue.  The 1927 edition featured a full-page illustration on page 419 and the same address. 

In 1927, Dillon illustrated at least three Feen-a-mint advertisements: “Beauty Is Health’s Reward” aka “Beauty—the Reward of Health”, “Grandmother Is Still Dancing”, and “Opportunity Never Knocks at a Sickroom Door”. 


The 1930 census recorded Dillon in Manhattan at 170 East 78th Street. She was a self-employed artist and single. Her former husband was a furniture salesman.


The New York Evening Post, June 16, 1931, published a photograph of Dillon. 


The Buffalo Evening News, August 25, 1933, published O.O. McIntyre’s column, New York Day by Day, who wrote “… Corrine [sic] Boyd Dillon, the artist, and her dog. …”

The New York Sun, October 6, 1932, reported leases in various neighborhoods: “Bing & Bing, Inc., leased apartments in ... 299 West Twelfth street to ... Corine [sic] Boyd Dillon …”


The article mentioned 2 Horatio Street which would be in Dillon’s future. 

On June 3, 1937, Dillon returned from Bermuda. Her address on the passenger list was 299 West 12th Street, New York City. The New York Times, June 19, 1937, said Dillon signed a lease for 2 Horatio Street. 

Dillon has not been found in the 1940 census. 

The Board of Elections in the City of New York, List of Enrolled Voters for the Year 1941–1942, Borough of Manhattan, December 31, 1941, listed Dillon at 2 Horatio Street. 

In the 1940s, Dillon contributed to comic books published by Parents’ Magazine Press

Real Heroes #6, September 1942, The Blind Man Who Saw
Calling All Girls #19, June-July 1943, The Traipsin Woman
Calling All Girls #22, October 1943, She Traveled the Underground
Calling All Girls #23, November 1943, Trouping with the Troops
Calling All Girls #25, January 1944, All’s Well That Ends Well
Calling All Girls #27, March 1944, Backstage with the Rockettes
Calling All Girls #31, July-August 1944, Allies in the Pines
Calling All Girls #32, September 1944, Underwater Wave
Calling All Girls #36, January-February 1945, Boast of Brazil
Calling All Girls #37, March 1945, Double Exposure Mystery
Calling All Girls #40, June-July 1945, Gap in the Wall
True Comics #45, Fall 1945, Delaying Action
Polly Pigtails #7, August 1946, Country Courage
Sweet Sixteen #8, August 1947, The Poor Fish

Dillon’s former husband passed away in 1947. 

Dillon was at the same address in the 1950 census. She was a portrait artist who also illustrated several books including Hi, Barney!, Kentucky Derby Winner, The Story of Florence Nightingale, The Bible Story, Volume 3 here and here, and Friends Near and Far: Pupil’s Book


Dillon passed away on July 29, 1965, in Manhattan, New York City. She was laid to rest with her parents. 


Further Reading
The Gilded Times, Nine Cities, Nine Styles: A Fashion Designer’s Travel Log Dated 1926 


Women in Comics Posts









Monday, April 15, 2024

Lettering and Typography: 1933 Syllabus Yearbook

Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
























































(New post on Monday: Corinne Boyd Dillon, Illustrator)

Monday, April 8, 2024

Comics: Lee Maroshek, Designer, Letterer, Draftsman and Architect


1942

Lee Maroshek was born Julius Leo Maroshek on March 20, 1912, in Rosahegy, Hungary, according to his World War II draft card and naturalization application. The spelling of his family name changed from Marossek (1915) to Maroschek (1940) to Maroscheck (1942) to Maroschek (1950) to Maroshek.

On May 29, 1915, Maroshek (line 14), his mother and three siblings were aboard the steamship Nieuw Amsterdam when it departed from Rotterdam, Netherlands. They family arrived in the port of New York on June 12, 1915. The final destination was Plainfield, New Jersey where Maroshek’s father lived. 


On September 12, 1918, Maroshek’s father signed his World War I draft card. His address was 1429 Willever Street in Plainfield.

The 1920 United States Census said Maroshek (line 30) was the third of six children born to Andrew and Susanna. The family resided in Plainfield at 1429 Willever Street. His father worked as a machinist at a machine shop.


Sometime after the census, Maroshek’s parents divorced. 

According to the 1930 census, Maroshek’s mother had remarried to Otto Veith who had three children. His stepchildren included eighteen-year-old Maroshek, thirteen-year-old Emilie, and eleven-year-old Bertha. The family lived in Morrisville, Pennsylvania at 501 West Bridge Street. Maroshek (line 68) was a designer at a tile mill. Information about his art training has not been found.


Maroshek’s father remarried in 1931. 

Maroshek looked for work in New York City. He was a letterer at Harry “A” Chelser’s comic book shop between 1936 and 1940. Editor & Publisher, March 20, 1937, said
There are 11 cartoonists in the 22-man organization. Three men do nothing but lettering for the artists, and special features writers prepare the continuity.
It’s possible he was one of the three letterers. Lettering was a steppingstone in Maroshek’s larger ambitions.

Maroshek has not yet been found in the 1940 census which was enumerated in April. His mother and her family lived in Trenton, New Jersey. Maroshek’s sister’s household included their father, a widower. Emily was married to David Atchley. They had two daughters and resided in Ewing, New Jersey. 

On September 16, 1940, Maroshek signed his World War II draft card. His address was Ridge and Mary Streets in Trenton, New Jersey. He was unemployed. Maroshek’s description was five feet eleven inches, 155 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair. He named his mother as next of kin.


In early 1941 Maroshek began the naturalization process at Los Angeles, California. When proof of his arrival in the United States was received, Maroshek filed the Declaration of Intention application on March 2, 1942. He was a draftsman who lived at 1295 Mullen Avenue in Los Angeles.


Maroshek filed the Petition for Naturalization on April 27, 1944. The draftsman’s Los Angeles address was 1817 South Bronson Avenue.


The California County Marriage Record, at Ancestry.com, said Maroshek married Ellen M. Nicholson on January 3, 1945.

Maroshek’s wife was a California native and registered voter. The 1948 voter registration, at Ancestry.com, said she was a Democrat who lived in Los Angeles at 1310 South Wilton Place.

The 1950 census, enumerated in early April, counted Maroshek (line 1), his wife and son, Nicholas, in Belvedere, California at 4225 Mandalay Drive. Maroshek was a self-employed architectural draftsman. 


Maroshek was naturalized on November 17, 1950.


The 1952 California voter register listed Maroshek at 4219 South Layman Avenue in Los Angeles. He did not state his party affiliation. The 1960 voter register said he was a Democrat whose address was unchanged.

Los Angeles Times, August 16, 1953
Designed by Architect W. L. Schmolle and associate, L. J. Maroshek

Los Angeles Times, June 5, 1955
Designed by Lee Maroshek

The 1963 and 1969 Arcadia, California city directories listed architect Maroshek at 650 Beverly. The 1970 Monterey Park, California city directory said he lived at 422 North Garfield Avenue.

The Trenton Evening Times (New Jersey), September 15, 1959, said Maroshek’s mother passed away on September 11. She was laid to rest at Media Cemetery. His father passed away in 1963 and was laid to rest at Saint Alphonsus Roman Catholic Cemetery

Maroshek passed away on April 21, 2004 in West Covina, California. The Los Angeles Times, April 25, 2004 published an obituary. 
Maroshek, Leo J. 
Born March 20, 1912 in Hungary, and passed away April 21, 2004 in West Covina, CA. He is survived by daughters, Susan Irtenkauf, Connie and Elizabeth Maroshek, sons Patrick and Nick Maroshek, sisters, Emily, Bertha, Matilda and Ann Maroshek, eight grandchildren and one great-grandson. Memorial Mass Thursday, 1:00 PM, at Queen of Heaven Mortuary, 2161 So. Fullerton Rd., Rowland Heights. Interment at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church Cemetery in Hopewell, New Jersey.
Maroshek’s wife passed away on February 29, 2020. She was laid to rest at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery


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(Next post on Monday: 1933 Syllabus Yearbook)