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(Next post on Monday: Irving Settel, Editor, Writer, Letterer, 

Advertising Marketer, College Teacher, and Columnist) 

Comics: Serena Summerfield, Artist and Designer

Serena Summerfield was born on August 9, 1885, Goldsboro, North Carolina. The birth date is from the Social Security Death Index. Her birthplace is based on a notice, in the Goldsboro Messenger (North Carolina), December 30, 1886, which places her father in Goldsboro on May 5, 1885. The 1900 United States census said Summerfield (line 78) was born in August 1886 and the oldest of three siblings. Their parents were Morris, a merchant, and Annie (Davison), both German immigrants who married in Norfolk, Virginia on August 19, 1884. The family lived in Staunton, Virginia at 114 Church Street. 

Summerfield attended the Mary Baldwin Seminary in Staunton. 

The Bluestocking 1903 

Her address was 114 Church in the 1904 Staunton city directory. Shortly after the directory’s publication, she moved to New York City. 

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, 47th Annual Report, June 2, 1906, mentioned Summerfield twice. 

Woman’s Art School.

Decorative Design—First Year

Honorable Mention. Serena Summerfield

The Prize of $10, offered to the First and Second Year Classes in Decorative Design, was awarded to Serena Summerfield.

American Art News, June 16, 1906, mentioned Summerfield. 

The exhibition and reception of the Cooper Union Woman’s Art School was held in the evening of May 31, at which Miss Kate L. Reynolds, principal and Miss Page, librarian, received.

... Serenas Summerfield won the $10 prize which was offered to the first and second-year classes in design. ...

Bronze medals were awarded to ... Serena Summerfield ...

The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia), August 4, 1906, reported Summerfield’s awards. 

Premium Awards Made in Women’s Department

One of the most attractive booths at the state fair is that of the women’s department. At this booth there is everything that appeals to the taste and whims of the fair sex from a pretty picture to the finest kind of crochet work. ...

Art Department Awards

... Pen and ink drawings; first premium, Miss Serena Summerfield, Staunton, Virginia.

Wash drawing; second premium, Miss Serene Summerfield, Staunton, Virginia.

Water color (still life); first premium, Miss Serena Summerfield, Staunton, Virginia.

Designing; second premium, Miss Serena Summerfield, Staunton, Virginia.

Original drawing; first premium, Miss Serena Summerfield, Staunton, Virginia.

Summerfield was mentioned twice in the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, 49th Annual Report, June 4, 1908. 

Woman’s Art School.

Decorative Design—Third Year

Silver Medal. Serena Summerfield

The Prizes to the Class in Decorative Design from the Robert Goodhue Prize Fund, for the best design for an inlaid table top in the style of the Renaissance in Italy, were awarded as follows:

… Second Prize, $10. Serena Summerfield.

The 1910 census counted the Summerfield family of six (lines 91 to 96) in the Bronx, New York, at 839 Kelly Street. Summerfield was a wallpaper designer. Her father was manufacturer of braids. 

At some point the Summerfield family moved to Baltimore, Maryland. The 1915 city directory listed Summerfield, an artist, at 900 Whitelock. In the 1917 directory her studio was at 602 Phoenix Building.

The Baltimore Sun, November 5, 1916, said

Dance in Witches’ Cave

Members of Social Circle Hold a Halloween Party. 

The home of Miss Jean Cooper, 2025 Eutaw Place, was turned into a veritable witches’ cave Tuesday evening, when the Social Circle entertained at a Halloween dance. A feature of the evening was a gipsy fortune teller.

Those present were Misses Priscilla Summerfield, Serena Summerfield, Florence Middlemas, Anna Singer, Nana Cone, Bessie Cone, Reba Cohen. Mary Cohen, Selma Handel, Anna Spillman, Cecilia Fineberg. Jean Cooper, Bertha Cooper, Lillian Cooper, Lonnie Cooper, Pauline Cooper, Florence Kline, Jessica Paris, Birdie Kahn. Messrs. Frank Ephraim, Rolf Sinsheimer, Henry Samberg, David S. Black, Dr. Harry Nathansen, Dr. S. G. Mendleson, S. L. Levinson, Harry Cone, Henry Cone, Irving Cooper, David Land S. Watlenstein, Ed Roenick, Stanley Handel. Dave Stemberg.

In the 1920 census, the Summerfield family (lines 38 to 42) were Baltimore residents at 3710 Park Heights Avenue. Summerfield and her brother were artists in the reproduction trade. Sometime later the family returned to New York City. 

According to the Board of Elections of the City of New York, List of Enrolled Voters, Fifth Assembly District, Borough of Brooklyn, December 31, 1923, Summerfield was a Republican who lived at 225 Decatur Street. 

Summerfield illustrated the 1924 book, Forty Years of Hardware on pages 7, 9, 11, 15, 18, 69, 82, 88, 95, 263, 335, 373, 387, and 411. 

The 1925 New York City directory said Summerfleld was an illustrator at 150 Nassau Street, room 1934.

Summerfield was listed in Advertising Arts and Crafts, Eastern Edition Volume 2, 1926. 

Summerfield, Serene, 150 Nassau, Bee 5207.

Design, Poster, Black and White Tempura.

Her listing in Advertising Arts and Crafts, Volume 1, 1928, said 

Summerfield, Serene ..... 1050 Park Place, Bklyn., New York, N. Y., Laf. 9272W

The 1930 census counted Summerfield, her parents and brother, Jerome, in Brooklyn at 1054 Park Place. She was a self-employed artist who produced posters. 

Summerfield, a Democrat, had the same address in the Board of Elections of the City of New York, List of Enrolled Voters, Eighteenth Assembly District, Borough of Brooklyn, December 31, 1931. 

During the 1930s Summerfield had work copyrighted: 

Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 4, Works of Art, etc. 1932, New Series, Volume 27, Number 2

Summerfield (Serene)* 3071, 3072

Bristol diced mints: 

Crystal cool.—Pocket packet and swanky dice jar for home or office. © 1 c. each May 11, 1932; G 8670, 8671.

Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 4, Works of Art, etc. 1932, New Series, Volume 27, Number 3

Summerfield (Serene)* 5372

Three-panel screen design in black, white and silver, deer or antelope silhouette. © 1 c. Aug. 4, 1932; G 9164.

Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 4, Works of Art, etc. 1935, New Series, Volume 30, Number 4 

Summerfield (Serene)* 8842 

King Cotton. © 1 c. Dec. 21, 1935; G 21610. 

Summerfield’s entrance in the comic book industry was described in Women and the Comics 1985). 

Women artists at the Eisner-Iger and Iger-Roche shop over the years included Nina Albright, Ruth Atkinson, Ruth Harris, Ann Brewster, Lillian Chestney Zuckerberg, Frances Dietrick Hopper, Karen Karol, Jean Levander, Lilly Renee Wilhelms Peters, Marcia Snyder, Serene Summerfield and Priscilla Ward. Of these Serene Summerfield was the first, having met Jerry Iger and Will Eisner at the office of a publisher named John Henle, whose unsuccessful and short-lived Wow, What a Comic! was indirectly responsible for bringing the core members of the first Eisner-Iger shop together. Eisner remembers Summerfield as “a big statuesque woman with a pleasant face, a sharp nose and hyperthyroid eyes who wore her hair in a bun.” The only credited work she is known to have done is “Space Limited” for Henle and some filler pages for National in 1936. ...

The Grand Comics Database has Summerfield’s credits. 

Summerfield won several contests held by the New York Post: December 24, 1937, Game of Picture-Rhymes

May 19, 1938, Screen Scrambles, won $2.50; September 22, 1938, Song Titles, won $5; October 20, 1938, Song Titles, won $20 to $5.

The Houston Chronicle (Texas), April 15, 1939, included radio programs. 

Professor Quiz: Mrs. Geraldine King, driving in a trailer from Akron, Ohio, to New York, features her visit to the big city with a trip to the Professor Quiz program. She will be one of the five unrehearsed contenders on the show to be broadcast over CBS-KTRH at 7:30 p.m. Other will be W. H. Givens, Jackson, Tenn., and Miss Serene Summerfield of New York.

According to the 1940 census, Summerfield (line 22), her parents and two bothers lived in Brooklyn at 166 Brooklyn Avenue. 

The Los Angeles Examiner (California), April 19, 1941, printed Summerfield’s letter.

April 6, 1941.

Mr. William Randolph Hearst, San Simeon, Calif.

Dear Mr. Hearst:

For once I am with you 100 per cent—air conditioning has possibilities, but in its present “condition” it is anything but “conditioned.”

So until some “ingenious” inventor can discover some way of really “conditioning” air so that it will be purified and “tempered” instead of “frigid-aire” let’s hope they will “leave well enough alone.”

You see it is not only trains, but as you of course know, theatres, stores, restaurants, et al resort to this “freeze-out.”

I give these so-called “air-cooled” theatre in summer a wide berth.

Your article in “In the News” about the above was priceless. It was very, very funny—but oh, so true!

Now I know it was not just me—that others suffer from this “conditioning” as well as I. And do not get me wrong—I like lots of air—but I like it fresh, not frozen, and in its natural state.

Well thanks a lot for bringing this out in the open—air!

Sincerely yours,

Serena Summerfield, 

110 West 42nd St., Room 507,

New York City.

The New York newspaper, PM, May 31, 1948, said

Serena Summerfield reports overhearing this on the Independent, one girl to another: “This is her fourth husband. She certainly has a lot of personality.”

Unity, May 1949, published Summerfield’s “Words”. 

Words can be weapons or soothing balm; 

Words can be surcease or they can be harm; 

Words can be irksome, can vex or annoy; 

Words can be bludgeons that bruise or destroy. 

Words can be soothing or words can be savage; 

Words can be healing or utterly ravage. 

Words can raise up, or words can tear down;

Can bring forth a smile or occasion a frown.

So before you permit them to pass through the air, 

Be sure they are kindly, loving, and fair.

Summerfield  has not yet been found in the 1950 census.

Summerfield’s father passed away on July 22, 1944. He was laid to rest at Cypress Hills Cemetery. Her mother passed away on February 24, 1949. 

Summerfield passed away in July 1966 in New York. The Social Security Death Index said her last residence was Brooklyn.

Further Reading

The Comics Detective, Serene Summerfield: The First Lady of Comic Books 

Women in Comics

Women in Comics Posts

Jeanne Alippe, Ruth Atkinson, Olive Bailey, Valerie Barclay, Vivian Berg, Helen Chu aka Duffy Mohler, Ellen Cole, Corinne Boyd Dillon, Anahid Dinkjian, 

Barbara Clark Fogel, Evelyn Gaines aka Lynn Lovelace, Merna Gamble, Gerda Gattel, Selma Meyers Gleit, Jane Krom Grammer, Anita Greene,

Bonnie Hano, Ray Hermann, Joye Hummel, Marjorie Wilkes Huntley, Grace Jacquet, Charlotte Jetter, 

Anna Kaufman, Bessie Mae Kelley, Nadine French King, Alice Kirkpatrick, Grace Kremer, Pauline Loth, 

Veda Lufkin, 

Marion McDermott, Emma C. McKean, Tarpé Mills, Claire S. Moe, Lily Reneé, Ruth Roche, 

Georgette Sauterel, Marie Severin, Marcia Snyder, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Serena Summerfield, Daisy Swayze, Terry Szenics, Claire Szep, 

Alberta Tews, Peggy Zangerle

(Next post on Monday: Vancouver Manhole Covers)

Lettering: An Ambigram and Almost an Ambigram

Edmund B. Neil initials

Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office,

July 21, 1925

Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office,

January 6, 1948

(Next post on Monday: Serena Summerfield, Artist and Designer)

Comics: James Daleo, Letterer, Commercial Artist and Art Agency President

Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 has an entry for James Dale who was a letterer at the Harry “A” Chesler comic book shop. Dale has not been found in census, military or death records. However there was a James Daleo/D’Aleo, a commercial artist, who is a good match for Dale. 

James G. Daleo was born on January 25, 1910 in New York, New York, according to his World War II draft card. His middle initial appeared on his marriage license application. 

In the 1910 United States Census, Daleo (line 13) was the youngest of six children born to John and Rozina, both Italian immigrants. His father was a plasterer. The family resided in Manhattan at 228 ? 107th Street

Daleo has not yet been found in the 1915 New York state and 1920 censuses.

The Daily Star (Long Island City, New York), May 29, 1922, reported the P.S.A.L. buttons for students of P.S. 22 in Flushing, New York.

P.S.A.L. shield-shaped buttons will be awarded this week to pupils of P. S. 22, Murray Hill, Flushing, who qualified in running, and chinning: 

Bronze Medals.

6A—Raymond Asselta, James Callan, James D’Aleo, ...

The 1925 New York state census counted Daleo (line 38), his parents and siblings in Flushing at 174 South Street. 

According to the 1930 census, Daleo was a draughtsman at an aircraft company. Information about his art training has not been found. He lived with his parents in Flushing at 45-53 157th Street. 

Daleo’s mother passed away on April 6, 1938. 

On June 18, 1938, Daleo obtained, in Queens, marriage license number 4162. The date of his marriage is not known.

Daleo may have been at the Chesler Studio in the mid- to late 1930s. 

The 1940 census, enumerated in April, said Daleo was a commercial artist (line 25) whose highest level of education was the fourth year of high school. He and his wife, Frances, lived with her mother, Anna Sturm, in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, at 31-20 81st Street.

On October 16, 1940, Daleo signed his World War II draft card. His address was unchanged. Daleo was self-employed with an office in Manhattan at 415 Lexington Avenue. His description was five feet nine inches, 151 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.

Eight months earlier the New York Sun, February 17, 1940, noted the new address, 415 Lexington Avenue, of Rapid Art Service. 

Apparently Daleo was the founder or one of the partners in Rapid Art Service, Inc. Its services included photographic and graphic design, production and printing. The operation of the Chesler Studio may have inspired Daleo to establish his own business in the more lucrative field of advertising. 

Rapid Art Service was mentioned in a 1949 issue of Advertising Agency and Advertising Age, September 26, 1949. 

The 1950 census said Daleo (line 2) had the same address. He was a commercial artist at an art agency. Daleo had a son, Ronald, and daughter, Rosanne.

The Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, July 21, 1953, published the patent of Daleo and Samuel Foglio, Jr. (also see Google Patents). 

The Greater New York Industrial Directory 1957 had this entry. 

Rapid Art Services, Inc.

45 W 18 NY 11 Or 5-4375 

Commercial printing 

Pres James Daleo 

VP Samuel Foglio 

Sec Michael Sotto 

Cap $100,000 

Off 3 Fac 40 

Ft 10,000 

Daleo and vice-president Foglio were the patentees of a display case. 

Sales Management, May 17, 1957

Daleo’s wife passed away on February 21, 1954 according to the New York, New York Death Index at Ancestry.com. She was laid to rest at Mount Saint Mary Cemetery. On September 18, 1965, Daleo remarried to Mildred Mendelow.

Art Direction, January 1958

Art Direction, August 1958

Art Direction, January 1960

The Standard Directory of Advertisers, Volume 1, 1968, had this entry.

Rapid Art Service, Inc.

304 E. 45th, New York, N.Y. 10017

Tel.: 212-MU 3-8215

Visual Aids, Complete Layout, Art & Mechanical Services, Printing of Promotional Materials, Silk Screening: Rapid Box Easels

Merchandising & Promotion Associates 

W. Marshall May (GM)

James Daleo (Pr)

Michael Sottosanti (Tr)

—Direct

(Media: 6-11-27)

At some point Daleo left Rapid Art Service and retired to Florida. Rapid Art Service was acquired in 1976 by Comart Associates, Inc., a full-service marketing and promotion agency. 

Daleo passed away on April 17, 1994 according to the Florida Death Index at Ancestry.com. The News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), April 19, 1994, published a death notice. 

Daleo, James, 84, of Cape Coral died Sunday. Graveside service today. Arrangements by Coral Ridge Funeral Home and Cemetery.

Daleo was laid to rest at Coral Ridge Cemetery. 

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Jon D’Agostino, James Daleo, Martin DeMuth, Shel Dorf, Marty Epp, Howard Ferguson, Herb Field, 

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(Next post on Monday: An Ambigram and Almost an Ambigram)