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.
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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 and the Comics (1985)
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, Gerda Gattel, Selma Meyers Gleit, Jane Krom Grammer,
Georgette Sauterel, Marie Severin, Marcia Snyder, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Daisy Swayze, Terry Szenics, Claire Szep,
(Next post on Monday: Hal Jordan asked Carol Ferris, “Chinese tonight?”)
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