Thursday, August 20, 2009

Tracking Down a Forgotten Illustrator: Luxor Price, His Life and His Illustrations


[Note: I've been telling my academic friends for some years that they should use online genealogical and historical newspaper databases in order to research obscure and not-so-obscure historical figures for biographies and research papers. Thus I venture to share this recent paper as an example of such research. Please forgive its inadequacies. The original paper had footnotes, which I could not put into this version. I can send the text with footnotes on request. Also, some of the links are to paid databases, so readers may have to view the original documents at their local public libraries which may have access.]

Unraveling the life, background influences, artistic influences, and analyzing some characteristics of the illustration style of Luxor Price, the illustrator of one of my treasured childhood books, The magic clock (author, Mary Graham Bonner) was the goal of my research project for a recent history of the picture book class. It entailed the consultation of print reference resources, genealogical databases, online newspaper digital archives, the examination of visual resources to trace artistic influences, and the location through personal library visits, interlibrary loan, and purchase of seven of the eleven books that Luxor Price illustrated along with several magazine stories. The result was more questions than at the beginning of the project and the future necessity of a series of letters to libraries and to Luxor Price’s descendants if these questions are to be answered.

As a genealogist, my first resource was Ancestry.com. To my surprise only the Biography & genealogy master index had anything on Luxor Price. The references indexed were Contemporary illustrators of children’s books. Compiled by Bertha E. Mahoney and Elinor Whitney (Boston: Bookshop for Boys & Girls, 1930); and Who was who in American art: 400 years of art in America. Second edition. Edited by Peter Hastings Falk (Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1999). Before I consulted them I had already begun to suspect that Luxor Price used a pseudonym, since Luxor is a very unusual name. However, neither resource listed his real name. Mahoney stated that he was born in Wales, educated at Christ’s College, Brecon, and now lived in Chilton Corners, NY. Apparently he had come to the United States in his teens and wandered around before settling in New York. He had never received formal art training. Falk referenced the resource, Clark S. Marlor, The Society of Independent Artists: the exhibition record, 1917-1944 (Park Ridge, NJ: Noyes Press, 1984). Marlor stated that Price was born in Cardiff, Wales, lived in Clinton Corners, NY, and exhibited two paintings on nursery rhyme-themed subjects in 1931 with the Society, according to their 1931 exhibition catalogue, which is not available in Illinois or via interlibrary loan.

A check of the Internet revealed that Clinton Corners was the correct address for the small town in upstate Dutchess County, NY. Searching the historical Chicago tribune and New York times databases as well as Google Books led to a review by Anne Carroll Moore of The all Mother Goose panorama by Luxor Price, which was produced by Frederick A. Stokes Company in 1923. The review stated that the panorama had been produced by the artist with the inspiration of his four-year-old son Peter. That led to a check on Ancestry.com of the 1930 U.S. census for a Peter Price in Dutchess County, NY. The only Peter Price in Dutchess County was 11-year-old Peter Price, who lived in the town of Clinton with his parents, John H. and Gladys C. Price, ages 56 and 50 respectively, both listed as born in England. John H. Price was listed as an artist who worked at home. He had immigrated in 1893 and was naturalized. Gladys had immigrated in 1913 and was naturalized.



This beginning point led me back in time. For the 1920 census, I searched the less common name, Gladys Price in the state of New York. John H. and Gladys Price were living in Marlboro, Ulster County, NY, with their son Peter P. Price, and John was listed as an artist for a magazine company. The right John H. Price was not in the 1910 census so he appeared to have been traveling at that point. A check of the World War I draft registration cards, 1917-1918 database turned up John Hyde Price in Milton, Ulster County, NY, born June 15th, 1874 in England. He was listed as a farmer in business for himself. His nearest relative was Eliza Maria Price, Cardiff, Wales. Cardiff was Luxor Price’s birthplace according to Who was who in American art. The 1891 Wales Census led me to John P. H. Price, son of Peter and Eliza Price. John was listed as a shipbroker’s clerk, and his father Peter, age 67, was listed as an architect, agent, and JP, i.e. justice of the peace. This clearly was a well-to-do family of the upper middle class or lower gentry according to the English class system. What took John P. H. Price across the Atlantic to the United States remains unknown. A check of the New York passenger lists, 1820-1957 showed John Penry Hyde Price on the SS Minnehaha sailing from London and arriving in the port of New York on October 2nd, 1905. He was listed as age 31, a private secretary, Welsh, last residence Cardiff. He had been in New York earlier that year and was going to his home at 107 East 16th Street. For whom was he a private secretary? A partial clue was on his 1910 passenger manifest. He was on the SS Majestic sailing from Southampton to the port of New York on July 14th, 1910. He was listed as John Percy Price, still a private secretary, and his destination was McLoughlin Brothers, 890 Broadway, New York. He was described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with a pale complexion, brown hair and brown eyes, and born in Cardiff, Wales. This confirmed that he was the right person despite the misspelling of his middle name. None of the other John Prices born in 1874, plus or minus two years, on this database were the right John Price. A check of Footnote.com showed that John Penry Hyde Price filed a declaration of intention which is the first step in the naturalization process in Los Angeles, California on September 29th, 1896 [he did not complete the naturalization process until 1923 so he may have had second thoughts about becoming naturalized]. That petition stated that he sailed from Liverpool to the United States on the 24th of October 1893. Back to Ancestry.com, where a search in the New York passenger lists for the last name Price, male, born in 1874, plus or minus 5 years and arriving in 1893, gave the result of Hyde Price, a nineteen-year-old student, arriving 27th October 1893 on the SS Germanic from Liverpool. His destination was Los Angeles, California. Who did this young man know in Los Angeles? That question remains to be answered.

Checking Google Books for variants of Price’s name revealed, under J.P. Hyde Price, an entry in the Social register, New York, 1902 (New York: The Social Register Association, 1901), on p. 282. Indented under the entry for Mr. & Mrs. J. Gregory McLoughlin of Larchmont Manor, NY, was Mr. J.P. Hyde Price. This was the connection to McLoughlin Bros., the well-known publisher of children’s books. A check of the Internet revealed through online histories of the company and obituaries that James Gregory McLoughlin (1880-1918) was first a railroad official in California, and only later, from 1905 to his death in 1918 was he involved with his family’s company. Luxor Price and McLoughlin may have met in California but there is no evidence yet of that. More searching of Ancestry.com under variants of Luxor Price’s name revealed that in 1900 under the name of Hyde Price, he was listed in Mamaroneck, Long Island, New York, as living in James Gregory McLoughlin’s home as a friend of the family. No profession was given for him, and no profession was given for McLoughlin or his family. On these particular census pages only the servants’ professions were given, confirming that Price was viewed as a gentleman. Price may have worked for McLoughlin as a private secretary since 1899, because on a passenger manifest for the SS Cestrian sailing from Liverpool into Boston on October 2nd, 1899, he listed his occupation as a private secretary.

A picture emerges from these records of a young Welshman of good family, who had had a traditional public school education, with the usual basic art training at home and school in drawing and watercolors. An interest in design might have been inherited from his architect father. His travels in the United States from New York to California and back were almost certainly recorded in sketchbooks, as modern travelers record their travels with photographs. He found a job worthy of a gentleman, as private secretary to James Gregory McLoughlin, who appears to have been a wealthy railroad official in California at the time they met, and only later involved with his family’s company, McLoughlin Bros., in New York City. Since Price was still listed as a private secretary and involved with McLoughlin Bros. in 1910, my current guess is that he remained McLoughlin’s secretary either until Price’s marriage to Gladys Charlotte Powell on August 10th, 1914 or until McLoughlin’s death on February 4th, 1918. Interestingly, Price does not appear to have exercised his artistic talents for McLoughlin Bros.’ picture books. A well-illustrated catalogue of a major collection of McLoughlin Bros.’s books, Amy Weinstein, Once upon a time: illustrations from fairytales, fables, primers, pop-ups, and other children’s books (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2005), shows no illustrations that are even close to Luxor Price’s artistic style.

Since Price was listed as a farmer in Ulster County, NY in 1918, he may have found he could not support himself and a wife and son from a farm alone. By 1920 he was listed as an artist for a magazine company. Google Books listed him as illustrating some stories in The Outlook (New York: Outlook Co., 1893-1928), later The Outlook and Independent (1929-1932). The Newberry Library has this magazine, which had the column “Tell me a story” by Harriet Eager Davis, which encouraged readers to send in stories they remembered from their childhood. Luxor Price provided the illustrations for five of these columns in 1928 and 1929. and they are quite simple, small boxed illustrations. Only one 1929 story displayed Price’s trademark animated objects in a story of a live teakettle. He contributed two stories to the column; one he made up for his son; and one from his own childhood, that his father had told him, as related by his father’s uncle Major Price, “How Ma Kangaroo got a prop,” a pourquoi tale about how Kangaroos got enormous hind feet and long tails. The introduction stated that Price’s great-uncle had served in the British army and later written a history of the Mohammedan empire. A check of WorldCat, Google Books, and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, showed this gentleman to be Major David Price (1762-1835), who had become a noted Orientalist after his service in the East India Company’s army. He was from Brecon, as was Luxor Price’s father, Peter, and both Major Price’s father and Peter Price’s father (presumably Major Price’s brother) were Anglican priests. Again, this added to the picture of Luxor Price’s family background, with family members in the clergy, the Indian army, and architects, i.e. a family, by British standards, of the lower gentry.

While there were some published reviews of the books Luxor Price illustrated in the New York times, Chicago tribune and various small-town newspapers digitized and indexed by NewspaperArchive.com, the key newspaper database for information on Price was the Old Fulton NY post cards website which has digitized and indexed over ten million New York State historical newspaper pages. The Fayetteville bulletin for March 28th, 1924 reported that a copy of Price’s The all Mother Goose panorama had been given to the local library. “The panorama, which is a beautiful big colored picture of all the Mother Goose folk in action, is the work of the artist, Luxor Price, done with the help of his small boy, Peter. A children’s librarian in New York learned of the picture, had it on exhibition in her library, and found it so popular with the children that she interested Stokes the publisher in reproducing it. It takes fifteen prints to produce this and it is probably one of the most difficult pieces of color engravings ever done in this country.” Articles about this panorama first appeared in 1923 though it is listed as having been published in 1924, so advance copies may have been sent to reviewers, such as Fanny Butcher Bokum of the Chicago tribune, whose rave review appeared in November 1923. The panorama was published by Frederick A. Stokes Company, and may have been acquired by the pioneering children’s book editor, Helen Dean Fish, who had become only the third children’s book editor in New York publishing circles in 1922. The next book Price illustrated was his own work, The Quoks (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1923). Fish may have offered Price work as a children’s book illustrator on the basis of this panorama and book, for his first illustrated books were with Stokes and his panoramas seem to have been principally produced by Stokes. By 1928 he had also illustrated one book for Harper and began illustrating books by Mary Graham Bonner in her Magic series for the Macaulay Company.



Articles in the small town New York newspapers reported on exhibits of Price’s artwork for his panoramas in local libraries through the 1920s, and he sold fanciful maps through the Arden Galleries in New York City in 1926, before the 1927 publication of Mary Graham Bonner’s The magic map by Macaulay. These maps either were originals of the book’s illustrations or inspired the company to commission him to be the illustrator for this book. The last book Price illustrated was for Stokes, Helen Fuller Orton’s Daddy’s adventures with the animals (New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1933). By 1936, a Mason City, Iowa library reported in the local newspaper that it had tried to get a copy of Price’s map of the Old Testament as a favor to a local who loved the library’s copy of that map. The librarian had written to the publisher who replied that the map was now out of print. The article quoted a letter from Luxor Price himself, who had been forwarded the librarian’s letter by the publisher: “The poster of ‘The Old Testament,’ is hard to get hold of. There is one here and I believe it is the last one. The price is fifteen dollars ($15). I happen to be the poor miserable artist who was responsible for the original.” The article’s point was that this poster had originally been $1.50 and now the price had risen tenfold, demonstrating how valuable the library’s holdings of out-of-print books were. It concluded with brief reviews recommending several of these books to patrons. By 1941, Price was listed as a retired painter in newspaper articles, when he gave lectures on art to local small-town organizations. In 1950 his obituary appeared in the Millbrook round table, where it was stated he had lived in Hibernia, a local town since 1925.

Let us now consider the possible reasons why Luxor Price’s artwork was so distinctive. Part of it may be due to his lack of formal art training so that he was free of the need to respect traditional art and illustration. Another part, and here is where one ventures into the realm of guess and uncertainty, is that he was influenced by children’s books from his own childhood and those he read to his son, advertising, newspaper comic strips, and his publishers’ printing and engraving capabilities. His black and white illustrations have very strong lines and include a lot of silhouettes. Arthur Rackham’s silhouette illustrations may well have influenced him. There was a strong tradition of fantastic illustration in British art, and various artists such as John Tenniel, G.E. Madeley, and the British pottery firm, Martin Brothers, also depicted animated objects, eccentric perspectives and images of people and animals, and their illustrations and pottery might have well been encountered by Luxor Price in his own childhood. There was also a strong tradition of humorous illustrations in Britain, arising out of political cartoons. Illustrators such as George Cruikshank and Edward Lear certainly would have influenced Price. Price’s animated maps also come out of a long European tradition of animated maps dating back to the 1500s. One remarkable British book may have been part of Price’s childhood, Geographical fun: being humourous outlines of various countries, with an introduction and descriptive lines, by “Aleph” (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1869). It showed the countries of Europe as people, i.e. England is shown as Britannia. It must also be remembered that British furniture and everyday objects throughout the nineteenth century could have animals and fantastic illustrations decorating them. After Price emigrated to the United States, he worked for James Gregory McLoughlin, so he was exposed to the McLoughlin picture books but may have reacted against their conventional style of illustration. Winsor McCay in his Little Nemo in Slumberland newspaper comic strips (1905-1914) certainly played with perspective, beds and other objects coming to life and flying around, and other visually extraordinary images. Those strips were extremely popular and Price was almost certainly aware of them. A British illustrator who was a near-exact contemporary of Price was William Heath Robinson whose books were republished in America and sometimes appeared in American magazines. His fantastical illustrations also showed animated objects. Another American illustrator who did animated objects was John R. Neill in his illustrations for the Oz books by L. Frank Baum and Ruth Plumly Thompson and others (1904-1954). Luxor Price was also part of a strain in American illustration and other media in the 1920s and 1930s that celebrated modernity, as exemplified by children’s book illustrators such as Mary Liddell, Virginia Lee Burton, Hardie Gramatky, and the visual and decorative art movement of Art Deco, and contemporary movies such as Modern Times (1936).

The all Mother Goose panorama does not appear to exist anymore, so the earliest set of Luxor Price illustrations available in the Chicago area is in Helen Fuller Orton’s The lost little pigs (New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1925). The animals depicted appear very realistic, and indeed, the pigs appear again in Orton’s The city that Mrs. Winkle built (Stokes, 1931). A look at Price’s artwork in seven books and in his magazine illustrations show that he reused images, such as the pigs, and animated teakettles. While Price’s fantastic illustrations in later books are the ones that stand out in memory, this early book was the most frequently reprinted according to WorldCat and Vialibri (a book search engine), with eight printings, the last in 1953. The Horn book even stated that it was among the books given by the Rosenwald Foundation to black schools in the south. The next book in publication order to be viewed was Mary Graham Bonner’s The magic map, which was printed by Macaulay in 1927. It is in black and white with some plates colored in green or blue, which may indicate that Macaulay did not want to do elaborate color plates for this book, perhaps because they were more expensive. [The illustrations can be seen here]. The publisher did do color plates for the 1931 book, The magic clock. [The illustration at the top of the blog post is from that book]. The Magic series had objects such as maps, clocks, and musical instruments come to life in order to explain to a young child or two children, what they did, i.e. to illustrate through these fantastic stories the concepts of cartography, time and history, and the history of music, etc. Price was at his best when illustrating animated objects which were very whimsical in appearance. The animals and people shown in these books were much less visually attractive.



A good example of how varied Price’s illustrations could be is found in John Brett Langstaff’s From now to Adam: Peter Tompkins’ adventures in the Bible (New York: Harper & Bros., 1928). He may have felt that whimsy was not appropriate for this retelling of Biblical events through the eyes of a modern-day boy who had traveled back in time. The many color plates are richly toned and stylized representations of Biblical scenes and are less than successful to my eyes. The best part are the elaborate frames that are vaguely Art Deco in style, where Price could let his creativity go. However, in the back of the book is a folded poster in a pocket, which when carefully unfolded shows all the illustrations together in one large poster with additional framework. It is quite stunning and visually demonstrates why a library patron in Iowa in 1936 so badly wanted a copy for herself. Another point to consider in why the coloration is so different in this book is that it was produced by Harper. Harper was one of the largest publishers and could afford elaborate color printing for its children’s books.

This question of printing in color also arises at Stokes. They had been able to print The all Mother Goose panorama in 1924 in what was estimated to be a very complicated process, and printed some other panoramas that Price produced, but the books he illustrated for Stokes were not so lavishly produced. There were five color plates in The little lost pigs, and the rest of the illustrations were in black and white. The illustrations in The city that Mrs. Winkle built are in black and white with yellow as the background color. Yellow made the illustrations appear bright and cheerful in this book which expresses the wonder of modern inventions through the story of how Farmer Winkle went off to the city to see its wonders. Mrs. Winkle stayed at home, and refused to take time to go to the city, but she longed to see skyscrapers, bridges and trains, so Farmer Winkle built examples of them right there on the farm. Macaulay had simple one-color printing for some plates in The magic map (1927) and its sequel Magic journeys (1928). It introduced color plates in delicate pastels for The magic clock (1931), but The animal map of the world (1932), Price’s last book for Macaulay, did not have any color. The animal map focused on tales of animals and Price made a serious effort to portray very realistic animals. The frames are somewhat stylized, but the illustrations do not have the charm of the earlier books with animated objects and silhouetted figures. Of course the variations in color printing at these three companies may also have been caused by lack of funds due to the Great Depression.

It is still unknown why Price did not illustrate more children’s books after 1933. He lived until 1950 and occasionally gave lectures on art to various organizations near his home, so he remained active. One possibility may be that his style of illustration did not appeal to editors and publishers. The Magic books and the animal books were a mix of fantasy and nonfiction, and were intended to educate children about nonfictional subjects. There were more nonfiction books being published in the 1930s due to the influence of the Bank Street educators, that contained far less fantasy, and contained bold and striking illustrations that reflected contemporary art movements. Price’s very idiosyncratic style may have appeared out-of-step with these new books.

As was stated at the beginning of this paper, there are still many questions left to be answered. What kind of artistic training did Luxor Price have? Are there papers held by his descendants that give information on his art and his life? Why did he illustrate only eleven children’s books? What other magazines carried his illustrations? Could he really support himself and his family with his art as one article indicated? How could he afford to retire in the middle of the Great Depression? Several possible avenues for future research are indicated: contact Price’s descendants in the hope that they might have archival material and original artwork and to expand on his personal biography; contact his public school in Wales for biographical and archival information, and to learn what kind of artistic training they might have offered; research James Gregory McLoughlin, Helen Dean Fish, Mary Graham Bonner and Helen Fuller Orton, and the Society of Independent Artists, to discover if archival materials or biographies contain references to Price; and investigate whether local libraries in the Millbrook/Hibernia area might hold unrecorded paintings or panoramas by Price.

From my research into an unknown illustrator named Luxor Price has emerged the artist-by-chance, John Penry Hyde Price (1874-1950), an Englishman of Welsh background, from a family of curates, soldiers, and architects, who emigrated to the United States, but did not actually become a American citizen for thirty years. He moved in high society during his years with James Gregory McLoughlin, but settled in small-town New York among farmers and everyday folk. He made his name as a children’s book illustrator and painter of nursery panoramas, and drew praise from Anne Carroll Moore and other librarians. His illustrations reflected not only the fantastic and humorous illustration trends of nineteenth-century Britain but also comparable American illustrations from the 1900s to the 1920s. He synthesized these influences into a very distinctive style, particularly in his black-and-white animated object illustrations. Today his books are forgotten and are held by only a few libraries. In my opinion, he is worth rescuing from oblivion and looking at what his life and illustrations reveal about the history of children’s book illustration in the 1920s and 1930s.



Books and articles illustrated by Luxor Price

Bonner, Mary Graham. The animal map of the world, by Mary Graham Bonner. Illustrated by Luxor Price. New York: Macaulay Co., 1932. 228 p., 1 l. incl. front., ill., pls., 22 cm.

Bonner, Mary Graham. The magic clock, by Mary Graham Bonner. Illustrated by Luxor Price. New York: Macaulay Co., 1931. 187 p., ill., 21 cm.

Bonner, Mary Graham. Magic journeys, by Mary Graham Bonner. Illustrated by Luxor Price. New York: Macaulay Co., 1928. x p., 1 l., 13-286 p., 1 l. incl. ill., col. pls., maps, col. front., 25 cm.

Bonner, Mary Graham. The magic map, by Mary Graham Bonner. Illustrated by Luxor Price. New York: Macaulay Co., 1927. ix p., 1 l., 13-238 p. incl. ill., col. pls., col. front., 25 cm.

Bonner, Mary Graham. The magic music shop, by Mary Graham Bonner. Illustrated by Luxor Price. Music by Harry Meyer. New York: Macaulay Co., 1929. 95 p., ill., 30 cm.

Bonner, Mary Graham. The magic universe, by Mary Graham Bonner. Illustrated by Luxor Price. New York: Macaulay Co., 1930. 250 p., [9] l. of pls., ill. (some col.), 24 cm.

Davis, Harriet Eager. “Tell me a story. Original tales remembered from childhood to tell to children. Conducted by Harriet Eager Davis. Illustrated by Luxor Price,” The Outlook, Feb. 29, 1928, v. 148, no. 9, pp. 349 and 355. The story was: “How the monkeys came to the zoo. As remembered by Sophie D. Wells, an Outlook reader.”

Davis, Harriet Eager. “Tell me a story. Original tales remembered from childhood to tell to children. Conducted by Harriet Eager Davis. Illustrated by Luxor Price,” The Outlook, Mar. 28, 198, v. 148, no. 13, p. 508. The story was: “The Mouse who saved the mill. As remembered by Mabel E. Pattee, an Outlook reader.”

Davis, Harriet Eager. “Tell me a story. Original tales remembered from childhood to tell to children. Conducted by Harriet Eager Davis. Illustrated by Luxor Price,” The Outlook, Apr. 18, 1928, v. 148, no. 16, pp. 632-633. The story was: “The Good old black teakettle. As remembered by the children of Marion G. Hartness, an Outlook reader.”

Davis, Harriet Eager. “Tell me a story. Original tales remembered from childhood to tell to children. Conducted by Harriet Eager Davis. Illustrated by Luxor Price,” The Outlook, Apr. 25, 1928, v. 148, no. 17, pp. 669 and 680. The story was: “How Ma Kangaroo got a prop. As remembered by Luxor Price.”

Davis, Harriet Eager. “The Grand animal mix-up. By Harriet Eager Davis. Illustrated by Luxor Price,” The Outlook and independent, Jan. 23, 1929, v. 151, no. 4, pp. 154-155. The story was: “The Grand animal mix-up. As invented for his son by Luxor Price.”

Langstaff, John Brett. From now to Adam; Peter Tompkins’ adventures in the Bible. Illustrated with a panel and drawings by Luxor Price. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1928. xii, 190p., col. front., col. pls. (1 fold. in pocket), 24 cm.

Orton, Helen Fuller. The city Mrs. Winkle built, by Helen Fuller Orton. Illustrated by Luxor Price. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1931. 3 p. l., 87, [1] p., col. front., col. ill., 16 cm.

Orton, Helen Fuller. Daddy’s adventure with the animals, by Helen Fuller Orton. With thirty-seven line drawings by Luxor Price. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1933. 3 p. 1., 81, [1] p. incl. ill., pls., 20 cm.

Orton, Helen Fuller. The little lost pigs, by Helen Fuller Orton. Illustrated by Luxor Price. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1925. 96 p. incl. col. front., ill., pls. (part col.), 14 x 19 cm. Reprinted the same year by Lippincott in Philadelphia and again in 1953. Reprinted by Stokes in 1928, 1929 and 1930. Reprinted by W. & R. Chambers in London in 1927 and 1930.

Price, Luxor. The all Mother Goose panorama, designed and drawn by Luxor Price. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1924. One advertisement stated “A beautiful and colorful map, size 20 x 40 inches, desirable for children’s room or library.” Not in OCLC.

Price, Luxor. Fairy story land. A panorama that he produced according to a newspaper article. I have yet to find other evidence of this panorama. Not in OCLC.

Price, Luxor. [Map posters]. He sold original map art through the Arden galleries in New York.

Price, Luxor. The panorama of American history. Drawn by Luxor Price. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1926. Mounted on linen, 24” x 51”. A tapestry-like frieze of the outstanding events of American history, chronologically arranged and with picturesque detail–cf. an advertisement. Not in OCLC.

Price, Luxor. The panorama of the Old Testament. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1928. This may have been the folded poster in the back pocket of John Brett Langstaff’s From Now to Adam (listed above), and then sold separately. Not in OCLC.

Price, Luxor. The Quoks, by Luxor Price. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1924. 62 p., ill. (some col.), 31 cm. Reprinted by W. & R. Chambers in London in 1925.

He also painted many nursery panels, large and small, in various mediums of Mother Goose, Fairy Stories, Pirates, Giants, etc., for home nurseries.

17 comments:

Melynda said...

Jenny, this is a stellar piece of research--I'm really, really impressed. I'm also wondering, given all the details of time and place, whether Maxfield Parrish might have been an influence in line and style . . .

Jenny Schwartzberg said...

Melynda, thanks for the compliment! At first I thought not Maxfield Parrish, with his nymphs and rich colors, then I remembered the Knave of Hearts. There's a lot of humor in those illustrations, and at least one winking clock if I'm remembering correctly. I wish I could have found images of Price's wonderful silhouette illustrations because they are the most distinctive of his illustrations to my eyes. Note to self, need to learn to use a scanner!!

Anonymous said...

Hi there, happened across your VERY informative blog. I was researching a picture that I have been trying to find out information on for YEARS via internet but to no avail...until now. It is The All Mother Goose Panorama and it is hanging on my wall. We received it from a wealthy well traveled couple whom we worked for. I was wondering what other information you could possibly have on it. Thanks so much! Rachael (starrlee@hotmail.com)

Liz said...

I enjoyed reading the story of "Luxor" Price and your research is impressive! We inherited a copy of "The Animal Map of the World" from my in-laws. I was struck by the illustrations, and set out to find more information on Mr. Price. I love the children's book of this period and scour the used bookstores to find them. I sure wish I had some of his earlier work!

Perco said...

A deeply satisfying piece - thank you! I too have great memories of my own LP book, The Quoks; there was nothing else around like it. It is interesting to read your informative and engrossing article - much appreciated!.

Jenny Schwartzberg said...

You're welcome! I have yet to read The Quoks. That's a future treat to come...

bruce said...

thanks for the history I have a copy of the all mother goose panorama and was looking to get some more information.

Tony Thomas said...

Thanks so much for your research. I had been trying to find JPH Price some some years and could not find his marriage and location.
I have the book Memoirs of a Field Officer by Major David Price written in 1835.
JPHPrice was the 1st cousin once removed of Major D price.
I have a part family tree of the Price family and happy to share. Do you know where and when JPHPrice and wife died?

Thanks
Tony Thomas
New Zealand

Anonymous said...

hi jenny i love your blog, i have a painting from (hyde price) 1902 lethograph and im trying to figure out if it is worth any thing can u give me any info.valthurman@yahoo.com

sonomasp said...

Thanks for the very detailed history of Luxor Price. I was Googling for info on the book "The Quoks" which is my favorite childhood book. Yes I actually have an original that I hope to some day get restored and have a new binding put on it. It's a personal treasure to me.

Howard Schnirman

Krosan said...

My Mom has The All Mother Goose Panaroma. It is in color, and has "by Luxor Price" in the bottom right corner. It is in a frame in her house. I'm not sure if many of them were made. How rare is the piece? please let me know. Thank You!

Anonymous said...

Jenny, you really did some great research. Thank you for that. I've been trying for years for some kind info on Hyde Price. I have a 1901 painting that is signed - Hyde Price with its original frame and has Mcloughlin Brothers paper info on the back. So he did some paintings while he was with this company. But the info you provided will hopefully be able to help me find out how much this is worth. But I am really impressed with the research. Thank you again, Dawn

Tim said...

Fascinating... I was researching the Little Lost Pigs that I inherited and remember vividly the black and white drawing of lions in the woods

ealaubrich said...

Hi, I have a picture of a shepherd leading his sheep to a barn. It is wintertime in it. It has signature of Hyde Price in lower left corner and along the bottom of picture it says, copyright 1901 by mcloughin bro.N.Y.This picture is in original wood frame with a piece of wood covering picture on back. I inherited this and would like to know history and value of it. Thanks, for any information you have.ealaubrich@gmail.com

Diane M. Roth said...

wow, this is awesome. I have a copy of "From Now to Adam", with its fabulous illustrations, and couldn't believe that there wasn't much information on this illustrator

so thanks for all of your good work!

Tim said...

Thats wonderful to read. I've just re-found my mum's copy of the Little Pigs, and was trying to find out the copyright status; there are some of his illustrations on the web, but not the whole book. Some of Helen Fuller Orton's books are out there but not this one.. do you think anyone will mind?

Anonymous said...

Someone in my family has The All Mother Goose Panorama in full color.