February is Black History Month.
Verdun Phillip Cook was born on March 28, 1919 in Havre De Grace, Maryland according to his Pennsylvania Veteran Compensation Application File of World War II at Ancestry.com. His middle name was on his 1946 marriage certificate. However, when Cook registered for the draft his name was recorded as Verdon Belmont Cook. (The same name was used to copyright a musical composition.) His draft card had the same birth information as the compensation application. Cook’s parents were Thomas Belmont Cook (1895–1948) and Helen Wootson (1901–1991) who married on June 27, 1918 in Brooklyn, New York. His mother was also born in Havre De Grace.
The Cooks have not been found in the 1920 United States Census. The 1930 census counted eleven-year-old Cook (line 76), his mother and sister, Henrietta, in Manhattan at 136 West 112th Street. They were lodgers in the Davis household. Cook’s mother was a finisher at a millinery.
The newspaper, New York Age, December 16, 1933, said
Where Cook attended high school is not known. At some point he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The 1940 census said Cook’s mother, a divorcee, and sister resided in Manhattan. On October 16, 1940, Cook signed his draft card. His Philadelphia address was 425 South Broad Street. His description was five feet ten inches, 150 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. Cook’s employer was Al Blofson who was president of the National Penn Printing Company in Philadelphia. At the printing company, Cook experienced many aspects of printing and the graphic arts.
Harlem School Boys Have Prize Exhibit at the Children’s Science FairNew York Age, February 3, 1934, said Cook received “Mrs. Pinckney’s general art and pottery making prize”.
The Frederick Douglas[s] Junior High School, 140th street near Seventh avenue, won the first prize of $20 in cash, at the Children’s Science Fair, which, opened Saturday evening, December 2. All the junior high schools of New York City competed in the fair.
Frederick Douglass Junior High School’s exhibit consisted of the following items: Life history of spice bush swallow tail butterfly, California sea lion in natural habitat, deer in natural habitat, beavers in natural habitat and how to make a wax leaf with moulds and casts.
Five boys did the work under the leadership of Sidney Druss, teacher of biology. Verdun Cook of 9B4 and Harry Wilson of 8B2 were responsible for the art work and the woodcraft involved in the exhibit, which was done under the supervision of Edward Singer of the Woodwork shop.
Where Cook attended high school is not known. At some point he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The 1940 census said Cook’s mother, a divorcee, and sister resided in Manhattan. On October 16, 1940, Cook signed his draft card. His Philadelphia address was 425 South Broad Street. His description was five feet ten inches, 150 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. Cook’s employer was Al Blofson who was president of the National Penn Printing Company in Philadelphia. At the printing company, Cook experienced many aspects of printing and the graphic arts.
In Philadelphia, Cook, a commercial artist, enlisted in the Army on May 12, 1942. Basic training was at Fort Meade, Maryland. At Fort Eustis, Virginia, Cook drilled at Coast Artillery and Anti-Aircraft weapons. (While there, he copyrighted a musical composition in 1943.) Next, Cook was assigned to the 92nd Infantry Division which had moved, in 1943, from Fort McClellan, Alabama to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Cook contributed to the 92nd’s newspaper, The Buffalo, and the fort’s Apache Sentinel (here and here). In addition to being a Buffalo staff photographer, Cook also designed many of its covers and drew a few cartoons (below).
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Cook’s initialed or signed several covers.
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October 30, 1943
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In September 1944, the 92nd Infantry went to the Mediterranean for combat. Cook was mentioned in the Baltimore Afro-American, December 16, 1944, Pittsburgh Courier, January 6, 1945, and Baltimore Afro-American, February 27, 1945 and March 10, 1945.
Staff Sergeant Cook was discharged on December 4, 1945. The Baltimore Afro-American, December 15, 1945, mentioned Cook and his father.
In Washington, DC, Cook and Leona Anna Turner obtained a marriage license and married on November 28, 1946.
The Independent Press Service produced a Cook profile which was published by several newspapers including The Omaha Guide (Nebraska), April 19, 1947; The Plaindealer (Kansas City, Kansas), April 25, 1947; Hartford Chronicle (Connecticut), May 3, 1947; and Negro Star (Wichita, Kansas), June 27, 1947. The Afro-American, February 21, 1948, featured multi-talented Cook.
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The advertising trade publication, Tide, August 19, 1949, said
Verdun Cook has been appointed art director of the advertising promotion department of Parents’ Institute (New York).According to the 1950 census, Cook (line 15), his wife and two-year-old daughter, Leona, lived in Manhattan, New York at 10 East 138th Street. Cook was a commercial artist at a magazine. The same address was on his Pennsylvania Veteran Compensation Application File which also listed his thirteen-year-old son, Kenneth Donald Cook, from a previous marriage.
New York Age, August 22, 1953, named several cartoonists, illustrators, designers and commercial artists, including Cook.
Cook, who was on staff at McCall’s magazine, was mentioned in the trade magazine Art Direction, October 1959. In 1961, Cook was Type Director at Redbook magazine. Years later he would become Associate Art Director.
Cook’s lettering appeared in the Royal Typographers advertisement.
Cook, who was on staff at McCall’s magazine, was mentioned in the trade magazine Art Direction, October 1959. In 1961, Cook was Type Director at Redbook magazine. Years later he would become Associate Art Director.
Cook’s lettering appeared in the Royal Typographers advertisement.
Art Direction, October 1961
The cover of Art Direction, March 1964, featured Cook’s lettering.
Cook was one of ten judges for “Galley 10”, the tenth annual awards exhibition of the Type Directors Club of New York. Art Direction, May 1964, published the catalog which included Cook’s stationery and two editorial pieces from Redbook magazine.
Cook’s Q, for Royal Typographers, was used on a promotional piece, art directed by Ron R. Anderson, for APA News and exhibited in Art Direction’s 4th Creativity-on-Paper Show of 1963. The piece was reproduced in Art Direction, October 1964.
Cook’s lettering for CBS Television Network was recognized by the Art Directors Club of New York and the New York Type Directors Club.
of 1965 was reproduced in Typography 35 (2014)
According to Howard Anderson Jr., an optical effects specialist, Cook created the heart motif and lettering for the opening of the syndicated I Love Lucy television series which began in Fall 1967.
Art Direction, October 1967, said
Verdun Cook is at Mogul Baker Byrne Weiss Inc. as AD, from Marsteller Inc. Previously, he was a designer at McCall’s, designer/AD at CBS and Associate AD at Redbook.
Cook was the photographer of the Artintype advertisement (below) in Art Direction, December 1967.
Cook was the art director and designer of two television commercials for the brand, Alton Ames, by Howard Clothers. The commercials, numbers 742 and 753, were selected for the 49th Annual of Advertising, Editorial and Television Art and Design (1970). Cook’s work was selected by the New York Art Directors Club and published in its 52nd and 54th annuals. Photographis ’76 (1976) included Cook’s advertisement. Samples of his work were reproduced in Typography 32 (2011) and Typography 35 (2014) here, here and here.
Cook passed away on October 6, 1975. A death notice appeared in The New York Times, October 10, 1975.
Cook—Verdun P. On October 6, 1975, survived by his mother Helen, sister Henrietta; also by his son Kenneth and daughter Leona. Services Walter B. Cooke Funeral Home, 117 W. 72 St., 1 P.M. Friday, October 10.Cook was laid to rest at Long Island National Cemetery.
Further Reading and Viewing
Are.na, Kyle Richardson / Verdun Cook
Are.na, Kyle Richardson / Verdun Cook
The National WWII Museum, The Buffalo: 92nd Infantry Division’s Weekly Newspaper during World War II; African American Servicemen Opaque Negatives for Weekly Newsletter on December 5, 1944 in Reggio, Italy
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, The Complex Legacy of the 92nd Infantry Division
Discogs, Verdun P. Cook
A’Design Award & Competition, Interview with Philip-Michael Weiner
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, The Complex Legacy of the 92nd Infantry Division
Discogs, Verdun P. Cook
A’Design Award & Competition, Interview with Philip-Michael Weiner
(Next post on Monday: Betty Bentley, a Letterer and Her Talented Family)
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