The Printing Art, August 1919
A Noted English Printer
(Next post on Monday: Sid Greene, a Comic Book Artist and Inker, and His Wife, Anita, an Unknown Letterer)
Monday, September 9, 2024
Monday, September 2, 2024
Comics: Irving Settel, Editor, Writer, Letterer, Advertising Marketer, College Teacher, and Columnist
Irving J. Settel was born on November 21, 1916, in Brooklyn, New York. According to the New York, New York Birth Index at Ancestry.com. His parents were Joseph Settel and Dora Rosenberg.
In the 1920 United States Census, Settel (line 21) was the youngest of three brothers. His father was an Englishman and wholesale salesman. The family resided on Young Street in Monticello Village, New York.
The 1925 New York state census recorded Settel (line 3), his parents and brothers in Brooklyn at 24 Crosby Avenue. His father was an insurance salesman.
The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York), April 25, 1929, said Settel was a new member of its Rainbow Club
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Settel’s address was the same in the 1930 census. He is on line 95.
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (New York), January 27, 1930, said Settel attended Public School 76 where he received a service award.
The Daily Eagle, April 1, 1933, said Settel was an assistant editor on the Liberty Bell newspaper of Thomas Jefferson High School. He was also on the Embers yearbook staff. Settel graduated in 1933.
Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 said Settel was a writer, artist and letterer in the comic book industry during the 1930s. Apparently Settel was at the Harry “A” Chesler comic book shop when Fred Schwab was there from 1936 to 1938. Settel and Schwab would collaborate twenty years later.
The 1940 census counted Settel (line 1) and his parents at the same address. He had two years of college and was unemployed.
On October 16, 1940, Settel signed his World War II draft card. He was employed at the Gay Apparel Corporation in Manhattan. His description was five feet six inches, 155 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.
On August 23, 1941, Settel and Gertrude Schulman obtained, in Brooklyn, marriage license number 18837. They married on September 19, 1941.
Settel enlisted on September 29, 1942. His occupation was advertising agent. His assignment is not known.
Beginning in 1946, Settel was on the faculty of Pace College in New York City.
1966 Legend yearbook
The 1949 Manhattan city directory listed Settel at 523 East 14th Street.
The 1950 census said Settel (line 12), his wife and three-year-old son, Kenneth, were Manhattan residents at 523 East 14th Street. Settel was an advertising manager at a men’s clothing store chain.
In 1951 Settel obtained a B.A. from Brooklyn College. He earned an M.S. at New York University in 1955.
Settel wrote or edited several books including Effective Retail Advertising (1951), Transportation Advertising (1951), Television Advertising and Production Handbook (1953), Top TV Shows of the Year (1955), Best TV Humor of of the Year (1956), Best TV Humor of 1957 (1957), A Pictorial History of Radio (1960), A Pictorial History of Television (with William Laas, 1967), and A Pictorial History of Television, Second Edition (1983).
Fred Schwab illustrated Settel and Bill Adler’s Congratulations, It’s Your Birthday!, Congratulations, You’re Married!, and Congratulations, You’re a Grandparent!, all published by Citadel Press in 1959
The Book Buyer’s Guide, June 1959
When Settel resided in Bayside, he contributed, in 1961, to the neighborhood newspaper, Bayside Times.
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July 6, 1961
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August 10, 1961
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September 14, 1961
The Bayside Times, July 11, 1963, reported his long distance lectures.
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Settel retired to Florida. A directory at Ancestry.com listed his home in Boynton Beach, Florida.
Settel passed away on February 19, 2002, in Canton, Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Death Index at Ancestry.com. His wife passed away on March 21, 2013 in Brookline, Massachusetts.
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(Next post on Monday: George W. Jones, Printer)
Monday, August 26, 2024
Monday, August 19, 2024
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 YearHonorable Mention. Serena SummerfieldThe 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 DepartmentOne 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 YearSilver Medal. Serena SummerfieldThe 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’ CaveMembers 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 2Summerfield (Serene)* 3071, 3072Bristol 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 3Summerfield (Serene)* 5372Three-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 4Summerfield (Serene)* 8842King 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 Posts
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,
Georgette Sauterel, Marie Severin, Marcia Snyder, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Serena Summerfield, Daisy Swayze, Terry Szenics, Claire Szep,
(Next post on Monday: Vancouver Manhole Covers)
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