A Conversation With The Collection

6/06/2008

On a stormy evening here in Minneapolis, we trudged out to give our first ever "talk" on the collection. And it couldn't have been to a better group of folks, cartoonists all, who also braved the spooky weather to hear us ramble on for an hour or so. Even allowing us to interrupt their monthly comic jam, a gathering of The International Cartoon Conspiracy. The sense of community and camaraderie would have made the cartoonists of Wesley's era proud. We also enjoyed that they kept right on drawing throughout the presentation!



Thanks go to Steve Stwalley for organizing the thing, and for being so encouraging. Check out his always entertaining and insightful blog, STWALLSKULL! Next up for accolades would be our hosts at Diamonds Coffee, as well as the folks of PUNY for providing the projection device, which allowed the images...You get the idea.

"Am sending these to you..."

4/03/2008

Welcome to the all-new Taylor Morse Collection! I'm finding it hard to believe a year has gone by since first launching the site, and can't help but feel as though this update is long overdue.

So, I wouldn't want to hold you up...have a look in the Gallery at drawings which haven't been seen in over 70 years! Four drawings are currently on display, they've been chosen to represent the diverse themes found in the collection. Any future additions to the gallery will be announced here. I encourage visitors to leave me feedback by utilizing the Contact page. Thanks, and enjoy!

An April Fool...Don't be a Sap!

4/01/2008

I'm thinking today is as good a time as any to share this strip. It contains several aspects which lend it to the occasion, the most obvious being, well, it's an April Fools gag. Hopefully those of you visiting the site have learned a few things about Wesley Morse, some facts in the "About" section have never been published, others not since the 20s. The two strips most often identified as being by Morse on the web are Switchboard Sally, and the above pictured strip, Frolicky Fables. The former can be seen in a small sample scan at the site for the OSU Cartoon Research Library, or the Trade Ad pictured on this site. But to my knowledge Frolicky Fables is not posted anywhere. So, enjoy!

Wesley drew the strip in 1926 for Premier Syndicate, his distinctive signature can be seen in the last panel. The writer had been, not 'Cep' as is indicated, but by VEP. A bit of an April Fools gag, because
Victor E. Pazmino is indeed the writer of these little fables, he is most famous for being the ubiquitous cover artist on the early "comic book", Famous Funnies.

Topping it off, here's another April Fools mix-up. Prior to our current understanding Wesley and Victor had been mistakenly identified by comics scholars as being women cartoonists ! Wesley was thought to be three sisters from Chicago, and VEP, well, he was Victoria, the first lady of comics!

"- AND THE SAP CHARLESTONED HOME ON SILVERY CLOUDS -..."

Yes Indeedy.

All-So-Ran

3/21/2008

A young, mischievous boy turns from a crowd of onlookers, faces us, covering his mouth to suppress a laugh...




The above detail is from one of the drawings in the Taylor Morse Collection and has captivated me for sometime. Throughout the years of carrying these pictures with me, certain details have taken hold more than others. It is from one of the more elaborately staged scenarios, depicting a dog show, in which Wesley has drawn himself as a contestant, although in a weird anthropomorphic self-caricature. I won't share the gag's punch-line...but will say that Wesley, apparently, didn't think he'd make a very good dog!

And as an update, we're working hard to complete the look of the all-new Taylor Morse website. It's going through a complete revamping and I'm very pleased with it. I hope those of you interested in such stuff will be pleased as well. Thank you for your patience.

Happy 104th Birthday, Doris Eaton Travis!

3/14/2008

I'd like to wish Doris a very Happy Birthday! Last year she danced at a Midnight Frolic in New York City to celebrate the centenary of the first Ziegfeld Follies. Her performance brought down the house!

It's amazing to think that my great-aunt Avonne could have been on the same stage with Doris, in her last year with the Follies, the 1920 edition. Avonne, on the other hand, was just starting out, kicking her way into her first year with F.Z's outfit. I know from friends that Doris doesn't recall Avonne, but I wanted to extend a warm birthday greetings from the Taylor family nonetheless.

Follies Gold

3/05/2008

Bob Hudovernik, who wrote the wonderful book Jazz Age Beauties, has been so helpful in my research regarding all things Ziegfeld Follies, Alfred Cheney Johnston, as well as offering me words of encouragement along the way. So, if you haven't read Bob's book, I can't recommend it strongly enough.

He's also developed a CD as an extension of his project, Follies Gold. Bob just recently sent me the disc, and it's loaded with content, not to mention a section which covers the Taylor Morse Collection, and how it relates to Follies history.

Collection conservation

2/06/2008

Thanks go to the Midwest Art Conservation Center of Minneapolis, MN for giving generously of their time and expertise in order to discuss the methods of preserving and restoring the Taylor Morse collection. Elizabeth Buschor, Senior Paper Conservator, looked over a sampling of twenty five drawings, and the prognosis was quite good! I hope to have a full survey exam done within the next year, this will greatly assist in obtaining funding to have the collection restored and up to curatorial speed for exhibition purposes.

Wesley Morse images © 2007 Talley Morse
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