Lettering: Bierman Heidelberg & Co

The Clothier and Furnisher

August 1889

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Items of Interest from the Stock of Bierman, Heidelberg & Co
1891
Selected pages

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(Next post on Monday: Alan Aldridge)

Creator: J. F. Griswold “The Rude…” Artist

Marcel Duchamp’s “Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2” was exhibited in the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art at New York City’s 69th Regiment Armory. Some of the art in the “Armory Show” was parodied by cartoonists. A parody of Duchamp’s painting, published in the New York Evening Sun on March 20, 1913, was J. F. Griswold’s “The Rude Descending a Staircase (Rush Hour at the Subway)”. Griswold’s illustration was part of the series “Seeing New York With a Cubist”. The previous day the Evening Sun published Griswold’s “A Spring Day on Fifth Avenue”.

“The Rude Descending a Staircase” has been reproduced and referenced in numerous books, periodicals and websites but no one has identified who Griswold was. There was a cartoonist named Bert J. Griswold who was based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but his style looks nothing like the two Evening Sun drawings signed J. F. Griswold. Circumstantial evidence in censuses, city directories and periodicals point to Julia Frances Griswold as the artist.

According to the New Jersey, Births and Christenings Index, at Ancestry.com, Griswold was born April 12, 1881, in Chatham, Morris County, New Jersey. Her parents were Warren Griswold (1845–1887) and Lydia Griswold (1847–1920). The 1880 U.S. Federal Census recorded Griswold’s parents, two older brothers, Ralph and Chauncey, and paternal grandmother, Frances, in Chatham, New Jersey. Griswold’s father was a bookkeeper.

The 1895 New Jersey state census listed Griswold, her mother, brothers and grandmother as residents of Chatham, New Jersey.

According to the 1900 census, the quintet lived in Madison, New Jersey at 38 Fairview Avenue. The birth month and year of each person were also recorded. The census said 1882 was the birth year for Griswold who was at school. Her mother and grandmother were unemployed; Ralph was a draftsman; and Chauncey, a cashier. They had a servant.

Information regarding Griswold’s art training has not been found. Griswold has not been found in the 1910 census. A 1912 New York City directory listed Griswold as an artist who lived at 100 West 76 Street in Manhattan. She was not in the 1913 and 1914 directories.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 15, 1912, published an article, “Idleness in Women Menace to Society”, that reported the happenings at the Central Evening High School for Women. Griswold and two others were judges of the costume design category and they chose three women for the roll of honor.

The Armory Show was in New York City from February 17 to March 15, 1913. Five days after the exhibition, Griswold’s “The Rude Descending a Staircase” was published. (Her cartoon was reprinted in The Literary Digest, April 19, 1913.) It’s a mystery as to how Griswold was chosen for the series “Seeing New York With a Cubist”.

Seven months after the exhibition, The New York Times, October 10, 1913, reported the names of appointed teachers in the evening, high, trade, and elementary schools. Griswold taught Design for Dressmaking at the Manhattan Trade School.

The New York Times, April 26, 1914, covered the exhibition by members of the New York Paint Club. The artists included Griswold, Frank A. Nankivell, Howard Heath, Adele Klaer, Israel Doskow, David Robinson, George W. Parker, C. W. Fairchild, Harriet S. Phillips, Laetitia Herr and W. W. Faucett.

It’s not clear how and when Griswold met the Schneider sisters: Sophie the artist, and Frances the writer. They traveled together starting July 24, 1914 as recorded on their Emergency Passport Applications. Also notable is Griswold’s birth year on the application, 1882, that is a year later than the birth index date. At the time of the application, the trio stayed at Suttie’s Hotel, Bedford Park, London.

A passenger list, at Ancestry.com, had Griswold’s full name and said she departed Liverpool, England on October 7, 1914, and arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania October 19. According to the passenger list, Griswold was an artist who was born in Madison, New Jersey and whose home address was 38 Fairview Avenue, Madison, New Jersey. The Schneider sisters were on the same ship and their address was 100 West 76 Street, Manhattan, New York City.

Griswold was listed at 100 West 76 Street in the 1915, 1916 and 1917 New York City directories. In 1915, she was a school teacher, then in 1916 and 1917, an artist.

Griswold was at the same address in the 1920 census. She shared an apartment with four women. The head of the household was artist Sophie Schneider; Frances Schneider was a writer. Mary Smith did housework; and Dorothy H. Purinton was a commercial artist.

On December 23, 1922, Griswold and Thomas E. McCoy married in Manhattan according to the New York City Municipal Archives.

The 1925 New York state census listed Griswold (as Julia McCoy), her husband McCoy, an electrician, and Sophie Schneider in Manhattan at 423 West 23 Street.

The 1930 census said the trio resided in Manhattan at 439 West 21 Street and both women were commercial artists.

The New York Times, March 22, 1931, published a death notice for Griswold. Her death certificate is here. 

Julia Griswold McCoy, wife of Thomas E. McCoy 439 West 21st St., suddenly, on March 20. Funeral services at 38 Fairview Av., Madison, N.J., on Sunday, at 3 P.M.

Griswold was laid to rest at John Hancock Cemetery, Florham Park, Morris County, New Jersey.

The New York, New York, Death Index recorded Thomas McCoy’s passing as December 3, 1946, in Manhattan. The status of Sophie Schneider is not known.


(Updated December 14, 2022. Next post on Monday: Bierman Heidelberg & Co)

Letterer: Ernest C. Riedl

ERNEST CHARLES RIEDL

New York, New York, Birth Index

(Ancestry.com)
Name: Ernst Riedl
Birth Date: 9 Feb 1890
Birth Place: Manhattan, New York

1900 United States Federal Census
1015 Third Avenue
Manhattan, New York, New York

Name / Age / Occupation
Charles Riedl, 47 [Austrian emigrant; hotel employee]
Fannie Riedl, 32 [Austrian emigrant]
Ernest Riedl, 10
Frank Pichl, 38 [Boarder]
Frieda Pichl, 22 [Boarder]

1909 Baltimore, Maryland, City Directory
Name: Ernest C Riedl
Street address: 214 E 23d
Occupation: Artist

1910 Baltimore, Maryland, City Directory
Name: Ernest C Riedl
Street address: 214 E 23d
Occupation: Artist

1910 United States Federal Census
214 East Twenty-Third Street
Baltimore, Maryland
Name / Age / Occupation
Charles Riedl, 57, Steward/Hotel
Fannie Riedl, 41
Ernest Riedl, 20, Designer/Engraving Company
William Barton, 50 [Boarder]
Mabel Barton, 34 [Boarder]

1912 Plainfield, New Jersey, City Directory
Name: Ernest C Riedl
Street address: Woodland av

The Graphic Arts

February 1915
The Work of Ernest C. Riedl
Unconventionality—along word and along stretch getting there consistently. There is a distinction 'between some of the shallow “original” eccentricities of to- day and true unconventionality built primarily on a solid foundation. The character and experience of Ernest C. Riedl have made feasible unconventionality a possibility.

After achieving success in the beaten paths, instructing in various schools, and in the one which taught him five years (the Maryland Institute of Baltimore), a pupil of C. Y. Turner, and winning the grand prize medal he sacrificed all and came to New York.

The fact that he has studied lettering and historic ornament from the very root, and, tiring of so-called “interpretations,” his soul revolting against monotony, again reflects his discontented progress. He is never idle, is always striving for something new, despises monotony, for he will never

“Walk to the grave in sackcloth
For even one short sleep
In the Castle of Indolence.”

and, incidental to his character, this talented fellow modestly informs me that there is nothing interesting about himself, while I know him to be an accomplished pianist and author as well.

His latest wrinkle is to introduce humor, be it ever so subtle; attributed to his occasional contributions to Judge and Life. Unlike the serious conventional design, his drawing, through its compelling interest, impresses the memory. With a light-hearted touch he can make a cold and soulless commercial “proposition” bristle with interest; be it boilers or coffin nails, the impression lingers . His prolific mind loves to overcome obstacles.

To “get away from the mob,” he has secluded himself, amid five acres of woodland, outside of Westfield, N.J., in a beautiful studio-bungalow, which may be credited for having inspired the strong compositions, the originality, and the mastery of line which have placed Ernest C. Riedl among the leaders of his class to-day.

World War I Draft Card
Name: Ernest Charles Riedl
Address: Woodland Avenue, Westfield
County: Union
State: New Jersey
Birthplace: New York
Birth Date: 9 Feb 1890
Age: 27
Occupation: Self-employed Artist and International Magazine Company, 
119 West 40th Street, New York City
Nearest Relative: Mother and Father
Height/Build: Tall/Slender
Color of Eyes/Hair: Blue/Light
Disability: Deaf in right ear; right eye bad; fallen arches in both feet
Signature: June 5, 1917

1917 Plainfield, New Jersey, City Directory
Name: Ernest C Riedl
Street address: Woodland av nr W Broad

1919 Plainfield, New Jersey, City Directory
Name: Ernest C Riedl
Street address: Woodland av

1920 United States Federal Census
Woodland Avenue
Westfield, New Jersey
Name / Age / Occupation
Charles Riedl, 66, Teacher of Music
Fanny Riedl, 52
Ernest C Riedl, 29, Designer/Art Goods

1921 Plainfield, New Jersey, City Directory
Name: Ernest C Riedl
Street address: Woodland av

1924 Plainfield, New Jersey, City Directory
Name: Ernest C Riedl
Street address: Woodland av, M

New York, Passenger List
One of many voyages to Bermuda by Riedl who changed the spelling of his surname to Riedel.

Port of Departure: Hamilton, Bermuda
Departure Date: 1? April 1928
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 19 April 1928
Ship Name: Bermuda

New York, Passenger List
Name: Ernest C Riedel
Port of Departure: Hamilton, Bermuda
Departure Date: 30 April 1929
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 2 May 1929
Ship Name: Bermuda

1930 United States Federal Census
Woodland Avenue
Westfield, New Jersey
Name / Age / Occupation
Ernest C Riedel, 40, Commercial Artist
Fannie Riedel, 62

New York, Passenger List
Name: Ernest C Riedel
Companion: Almeda Riedel
Port of Departure: Hamilton, Bermuda
Departure Date: 25 April 1936
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 27 April 1936
Ship Name: Queen of Bermuda

New York, Passenger List
Name: Ernest C Riedel
Companion: Almeda Riedel
Port of Departure: Hamilton, Bermuda
Departure Date: 1 May 1937
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 3 May 1937
Ship Name: Queen of Bermuda

New York, Passenger List
Name: Ernest C Riedel
Companion: Almeda Riedel
Port of Departure: Hamilton, Bermuda
Arrival Date: 30 April 1938
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 2 May 1938
Ship Name: Queen of Bermuda

1940 United States Federal Census
507 Wychwood Road
Westfield, New Jersey
Name / Age / Occupation
Ernest C Riedel, 50, [blank]
Almeda Riedel, 43
Ernest Witte, 76 {Riedel’s Uncle]
Jacob Reichald, 57, Gardener

New York, Passenger List
Name: Ernest C Riedel
Companion: Almeda Riedel
Port of Departure: Hamilton, Bermuda
Departure Date: 30 April 1940
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 2 May 1940
Ship Name: President Roosevelt

World War II Draft Card
Name: Ernest Charles Riedel
Address: 507 Wynchwood Road, Westfield, New Jersey
Employer: Self
Height/Weight: 6’ 0” / 176 lbs
Eyes/Hair: Blue/Blonde
Signature: April 27, 1942

New York, Passenger List
Name: Ernest C Riedel
Companion: Almeda Riedel
Port of Departure: Hamilton, Bermuda
Departure Date: 2 May 1947
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 5 May 1947
Ship Name: Fort Amherst

New York, Passenger List
Name: Ernest Riedel
Companion: Almeda Riedel
Port of Departure: Bermuda
Departure Date: 10 May 1950
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 12 May 1950
Ship Name: Queen of Bermuda

New York, Passenger List
Name: Ernest Riedel
Companion: Almeda Riedel
Departure Place: New York, New York, USA
Departure Date: 29 Dec 1950
Ship: Queen of Bermuda
Port: New York

New York, Passenger List
Name: Ernest Riedel
Companion: Almeda Riedel
Port of Departure: Bermuda
Departure Date: 2 May 1951
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 4 May 1951
Ship Name: Queen of Bermuda

New York, Passenger List
Name: Ernest Riedel
Companion: Almeda Riedel
Departure Place: New York, New York, USA
Departure Date: 5 Jan 1952
Ship: Queen of Bermuda
Port: New York

New York, Passenger List
Name: Ernest Riedel
Companion: Almeda Riedel
Port of Departure: Bermuda
Departure Date: 30 April 1952
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 2 May 1952
Ship Name: Queen of Bermuda

Social Security Death Index
Name: Ernest Riedel
Last Residence: 07091 Westfield, Union, New Jersey
Born: 9 Feb 1890
Died: Jan 1970
State (Year) SSN issued: New Jersey (1964)

(Next post on Monday: J. F. Griswold “The Rude...” Artist)