TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary of the Collection
Biography of John Francis Holme
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Inventory of the John Francis Holme Drawings, 1901-1902
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Lisa Janssen, 2004. ©2004. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
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| Creator | Holme, John Francis, 1868-1904 |
| Title | John Francis Holme Drawings |
| Dates | 1901-1902 |
| Extent | .2 cubic ft. (1 box) |
| Abstract | Fifteen pen-and-ink drawings by illustrator and printer Frank Holme and a printed list of the officers and stockholders of the Bandar Log Press, established by Holme. |
| Language | Materials are in English. |
| Repository | Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
| Collection Call Number | Midwest MS Holme |
| Collection Stack Location | 3a 40 6 |
Administrative Information
Cite As
John Francis Holme Drawings, Midwest Manuscript Collection, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Provenance
Gift of Mrs. John T. McCutcheon, 1973.
Processed by
Virginia H. Smith, 2004.
Access
John Francis Holme Drawings are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 5 folders at a time maximum (Priority II).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The John Francis Holme Drawings are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
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Biography of John Francis Holme
Newspaper artist and printer of books.
Born in 1868, John Francis (Frank) Holme grew up in West Virginia, and when a young man worked as a reporter and artist for the Wheeling, West Virginia Register. After two years with the Pittsburgh Press, where possibly his first outstanding illustrations were for the coverage of the Johnstown flood in 1889, Holme moved to Chicago. Here he worked as an illustrator for several newspapers, including the Chicago Post, the Chicago Chronicle and the Daily News.
Holme was known as a rapid, tireless newspaper artist, working at lightning speed in the courtroom, at a crime scene or wherever the action was. He became interested in many methods of illustration, experimenting with chalk-plate, copper-plate etching, dry-point, photo-engravings from pen-and-ink drawings, and greased crayon. Between 1895 and 1900, he founded The School of Illustration in Chicago and the Palette and Chisel Club, held three exhibitions at the Art Institute with John T. McCutcheon and William W. Schmedtjen, and wrote twelve books of instruction for a mail-order course in illustration. But Holme is probably best remembered for establishing a small press called the Bandar Log Press.
The first book from the Bandar Log Press was printed in Holme's home in Chicago in 1895, and was entitled Just For Fun. When Holme fell victim to tuberculosis, he and the Press moved to Asheville, North Carolina in 1901, where the second Bandar Log book, Swanson, Able Seaman was printed. The next year, seeking a better climate for his illness, Holme and the Press moved to Arizona, near Phoenix, and here a small series of booklets entitled Strenuous Lad's Library was produced. These tales, written by George Ade, were illustrated by Frank Holme with woodcuts in the style of an earlier vintage. Meanwhile, friends of his, in order to raise funds to help in his recovery, incorporated the Bandar Log Press at $25 a share. The stay in Arizona did not improve Holme's health, so he moved to a cooler Denver, where he died a few months later in July, 1904.
Frank Holme was survived by his wife, Ida Van Dyke of London, England and Grimsby, Ontario, whom he had married in 1893.
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Scope and Content of the Collection
The collection consists of fifteen humorous pen-and-ink drawings of various types of people by John Francis Holme, done in the style of linoleum prints. Cover sheets indicate these were done in 1901 for New York publisher R.H. Russell, apparently to illustrate newspaper columns of George Ade. Also a pamphlet, "The Bandar Log Press, Incorporated" which lists its officers, directors and stockholders.
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Arrangement
Arranged chronologically and by type of material.
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Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Names
- Ade, George, 1866-1944
- Bandar Log Press
- Holme, John Francis, 1868-1904
- R.H. Russell (Firm)
Subjects
- American wit and humor, pictorial
- Artists, American
- Caricatures and cartoons - United States
- Cartoons - 1901
- Drawings - 1901
- Illustrators - United States
- Manuscripts, American
- Pen and ink drawings - Specimens
- Printers - United States - History - 20th century - Sources
- Printing - Arizona - Specimens
- Small presses - United States - History - 20th century - Sources
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Container List |
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| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | "The Diagnosis", March 18, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | "The Necessity", March 18, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | "Jimmy", April 10, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | "Ambition", April 23, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | "The Bally-Hoo", April 29, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | "The Pastor", April 29, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | "The Tax Payers", May 6, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | "The Tramps Story", May 6, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | "The Offensive Winner", May 20, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | "Old Crafty", May 20, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | "Satisfaction", June 3, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | The Successful Ki[_____]", June 3, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | "The Major", June 10, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Untitled, July 15, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | "The Spare Bedroom", July 23, 1901 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Pamphlet: List of Bandar Log Press Officers and Stockholders, circa 1902 | |||||||||