jim henson

PLEASE NOTE: In accordance with a cease and desist message received from About Comics, current copyright holder for the images from Charles M. Schulz's 'Two-by-Fours' book, the color scans from a vintage copy of that book have been removed from this blog until further notice.

Thank you.

About Comics would also like you to know that their book 'Schulz's Youth' collects cartoons from both the 'Young Pillars' series and images from 'Two-by-Fours'.

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This little book of child psychology for churchgoing folk was a collaboration between beloved cartoonist
Charles M. Schulz and writer Kenneth F. Hall.

It first appeared in the
mid-1960s, right around the same time Schulz was finishing up his run on 'Young Pillars', a comic strip with similar gently religious overtones, focused on teenagers.

Schulz' 'Peanuts' gang were certainly already hugely popular at the time, though it would still be a couple of years or so before they'd take over the planet and all its media.

If the lanky, elongated teens in 'Young Pillars' looked sort of like older versions of Charlie Brown and his friends, the 'Two-By-Fours' kids look sort of like kids who were their same age but who lived across town or went to a different school.

- A bit of text from the book's back cover ▲ and preface ▼ defining the concept...

"When a Two-by-Four is a piece of lumber, you can stack it on a neat pile or cut it to just the right length and nail it to a wall.

"But, the kind of Two-by-Four we discuss here (children living in their second, third, and fourth years) you can never quite nail down so permanently or stack up so neatly.

"In fact, these youngsters do not themselves have a clear picture of just who they are, and they do a lot of groping to try to discover the answer."



Fun to see Schulz working in a single-panel format, as opposed to his customary strip motif.

The vivid colors are reminiscent of those in his book Happiness is a Warm Puppy, and bring back memories of greeting cards and calendars of the era, or 'gift' books printed around the same time by Price/Stern/Sloan and other such publishers.

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Squirt, the grapefruit soft drink, was introduced in 1938.

Their mascot,
'Little Squirt' began appearing in their advertisements and promotions in 1941.

Though the company changed hands many times over the decades, and the formula has changed a bit, Squirt soda is still around today.

- - But when was the last time you saw
'Little Squirt'?
































Looks like there was a version of him still kicking around as late as the mid-1970s at least,
but since then?

Where do the old advertising mascots go to die?

"... The eye shadow of the future.
Make it yours today."

Times change, styles change, and change again.

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"Exactly enough" pre-measured color, you say - - ??

A relative term, surely.
Results may vary.

'Way too much' for some.

'Almost there' for others.

(Drag divas, glam rockers and circus clowns spring to mind.)

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Elegant composition in this 1930 magazine advertisement.
Simple but striking.

- - And not the first time that Horlicks had used the memorable
cow-as-billboard motif...

- example one (via)
- example two (via)

Horlicks malted milk powder is still popular in India and a few other parts of the world, but in the U.K. and the U.S. has mostly become a fond memory, a 'comfort food' relic of a bygone era.

In the 1870s, brothers William & James Horlick had emigrated from England and were manufacturing their milk drink as an artificial food for infants, and soon established a large factory in
Racine, Wisconsin.

By the early part of the 20th century, Horlicks (then spelled as Horlick's) was well-established internationally (including an early foothold in India), though in the U.S. it was outsold by its rival, Ovaltine.

Whether touted as a sleep-aid, a 'restorative', or nutrition supplement, Horlicks was used in interesting ways as an advertising sponsor over the years, associating itself at different times with radio programs like 'Lum and Abner' or in films with George Pal's animated Puppetoons or even by sending along crates of their product on a few polar expeditions.

More bits and pieces of Horlicks history (including the name standing in as a milder substitute for the British profanity 'bollocks') can be found via the Horlicks Wikipedia entry...

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Chicago's Formfit company began producing ladies' foundation garments in 1917, eventually branching out beyond corsets and girdles to manufacture other types of lingerie.

See also:
- Leif Peng shows several other period examples of 'That Formfit Look' and talks about the advertising strategies at play in an old post at his blog, Today's Inspiration.

- The site 'Mummy! Have you seen my Girdle?' also has much to say on the subject, and cites the Formfit brand often in its 'Past Times' section.

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This article appeared in the January 1962 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine.

The layout and (of course) the fashions are very much of the era, and they're currently making me anxious for the return of 'Mad Men', coming back for its 3rd season this Summer.

(For more of 'Madmen' follow links, while they last.)

In addition to this spread, photographer Richard Heimann shot the cover images for several jazz and pop record jackets back around this same period.

Heimann was also the second husband of pioneering supermodel Carmen Dell'Orefice.

- Follow link to Fabulon for more of Carmen.


The outfits in the article are all touted as home sewing projects from Simplicity Patterns.

- Follow link to Cemetarian for more on the history of Simplicity.

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◀ This full-page ad could have looked just a little out of place when it first ran in mainstream American comic books towards the end of 1967.

(UPDATE, 1.13.09: It's been verified that the ad's design was indeed by
Cal Schenkel, longtime Zappa visualist.
More info below.)

'Pop-Art' and psychedelia may have begun to make gentle inroads into the look of the funny books by then, but this ad was something a bit different.

It promoted 'We're Only In It For The Money', the (then brand new) third album by Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention, an LP every bit as innovative and mind-bending as their previous two, experimenting with familiar rock idioms in combination with
avant-garde sound collage and large doses of social satire.

That alone is noteworthy, as despite the 'wholesome' tone of the ad's copy, this was clearly not squeaky-clean teen pop combo music like you'd have heard on your top ten AM radio or seen on TV's 'Hullabaloo' or 'American Bandstand' back in the day.

Hell, it still isn't.

But without providing any details, the ad also entices the reader to clip the coupon and send a letter off to 'United Mutations'.

United Mutations was the name of the Mothers of Invention's fan club, which
Frank Zappa started in '67 as a way to respond to the often unusual fan mail the band received.

It's easy to assume that the average curious and presumably innocent young comic book reader would probably not have known this, however, just as it's easy to assume that they likewise would perhaps have had little familiarity with Zappa and The Mothers.

- So the question arises, had you cut the United Mutations coupon out of your comic and sent it in, what would you have received?

According to Chris Federico's Zappology site, you'd have received a 'thank you' form letter that included an application questionnaire for joining the club.

The text of that first letter read:

"We could have sent you a cheesy form letter,
all 'The Mothers of Invention want to thank you blah blah for writing such a nifty letter blah and they love their fans who are so loyal and thoughtful blah and blah. But they are so busybusybusybusy that it would be virtually impossible for them to even begin to attempt to consider the possibility of any sort of warm personal reply, blah, blah, blaaahhh.'

"We could have sent you that sort of cheesy letter; instead, we have sent you this cheesy letter, the text of which reads:
'Dearest Wonderful and Perceptive Person: The Mothers of Invention want to thank you blah blah for writing us such a nifty letter, some of which you have written to us on toilet paper -- how wonderfully original. Golly gee, we are so awful busy being thrown out of restaurants and hotels in Montreal, ignored by taxis in New York -- have you had that trouble too? It's getting so you don't even have to be black to not be picked up -- mugged by policemen in Los Angeles and scrutinized by the censors of all major U.S. media. Willikins! It takes so much time to do all that crap, we hardly have any time to answer each of you in a warm, personal way.
'So: If you are a worried girl and you wrote to us because we turn you on and you want our bodies and/or you think we are cute, here is your own personal section of the letter: The answer to any and all questions is, yes, we love you even if you are fat, with pimples.
'If you are, or are considering the possibility of becoming, a boy, and you think you are very hep and swinging, and you wrote to us on a piece of toilet paper, this section is for you: Keep up the good work. We would like to encourage you to become even more nihilistic and destructive. Attaboy. Don't take any gas from your metal shop teacher or that creep with the flat-top in physical education who wants to bust your head because you are different. Give them all the finger, just like we would give you the finger for writing to us on a piece of toilet paper.'

"Would you be interested in joining what's called a fan club for the Mothers?
The official name of the organization is United Mutations. We call it that because we are certain that only a few special people might be interested in active participation.

"It will cost you three dollars and you must fill in the accompanying questionnaire:
Name, age, sex, height, weight, address, state, zip, father's name, profession, mother's name, profession.
Answer these questions briefly: Who is God?
ESP: Yes? No? Describe.
Best way to describe my social environment is:
If I had my way I would change it to:
How will you change your social environment? When?
What are you afraid of? What sort of help can the Mothers give you?
On another sheet of paper, describe your favorite dream or nightmare in clinical detail.
Send both sheets with three dollars to the address above, and in return, we will send you useful information about the Mothers and a small package with some other things you might be interested in.

"Thank you. Your signature in ink, please."

- According to the Zappa Wiki Jawaka , sending in the $3 would get you a club membership kit that included photos and biographies of the Mothers Of Invention band members, a membership card, copies of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, and a second form letter / questionnaire.

The text of the follow-up letter read:

"Hello. Thank you for responding to our initial proposal. It is necessary to know a few more things about you. We hope you won't mind answering another form letter; our files require it for continued membership.

"If you are interested in this worthwhile program of, let's call it self-help, please be advised that our work can be continued only if your membership is kept paid yearly and we have periodic reports of your activities within the context of our program. You will be notified by mail for your next membership report.

"For now, please fill in this form and return it to us, and read the enclosed material carefully. We are happy you took an interest in us.

"Answer these questions briefly. Please enclose a small photo of yourself.
Are you a mutation?
What can you do to help us?
People's minds: How many do you control? Why not more?
How do you control your subjects? Do they know? Do other people know?
How do you avoid problems? Do you group-think?
Is there another operator near you? Who? Does he/she belong to our association? If no, why not?
Describe your relationship with your parents.
How can the Mothers assist you?

"Your signature in ink, please. Date."

The Zappology site cites a mid-1967 interview with Zappa, conducted by Frank Kofsky, in which Zappa talked about the fan letters, the club, and the questionnaires, and about trying to offer people something that makes it okay be strange.

(For all of that '67 interview, Click Here.)

That Zappa and the Verve Record label succeeded in placing an ad for The Mothers of Invention in mainstream comic books is funny and odd, and seems of another era.

That the ad could have also sought to target and 'recruit' teenagers who may have felt like outsiders, and offer them the notion that they belong is also funny and odd, as well as gently subversive and pretty wonderful.

- - And it all fits in nicely with underlying themes present in the lyrics of those first three Mothers albums, too.
Willikins!

I'm still very curious about that advertisement, though.
How exactly did it come about? There weren't too many recording artist ads in comics at that time...

I'm wondering if the ad's layout may have been designed by Cal Schenkel, who signed on with Zappa right around this same time, executing the memorable 'Sgt. Pepper' cover parody for 'We're Only In It For The Money'. (Yep! See update below)
It also looks just collage-y enough to have perhaps been done by FZ himself.

I'm sure we'd all love to hear from someone out there who knows about these things.
I'd also like to hear from anyone who did respond to this ad back then, or who was an early member of United Mutations.
(Yay! Another update, see below)

I hadn't seen this old ad in a long while.
Thanks are due to artist J.R. Williams, who posted a scan of it in one of his Flickr galleries and got me to thinking about it.
(Follow link for more on Mr. Williams)

UPDATE 1.13.09 - - (Continued from above)
I had a nice little e-mail exchange with graphic artist Wayno, who was kind enough to get in touch with Mr. Schenkel regarding that Mothers ad in this post.
Cal responded, "Yep, I dood it!".
Great to have that verification, many thanks!

Schenkel provided many album cover designs and other artwork for Zappa over the years, and remains the primary artist associated with Frank's visual style.

For more about Cal Schenkel ▶
and his credits, see also:
- The Wikipedia entry, and the Zappa Wiki Jawaka entry.

- Cal's website, www.ralf.com/, where he has artwork for sale.

- A 2001 interview at Eye Magazine.Com.

- Below ▼, a video link to 'Dental Hygiene Dilemma', an animated sequence from the 1971
Zappa & The Mothers film '200 Motels', based upon designs by Schenkel.



- ANOTHER UPDATE, 7.15.09:

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BIG thanks to Nick for sending in a scan of a precious artifact;
His copy of that introductory 'United Mutations' form letter, with a note signed by Pauline Butcher, Frank's personal secretary from '68 to '72, who ran the fan club at the time.

Nick said:
"I started getting into Frank Zappa in the 60's, and not long after I sent a letter to U.M. asking about pictures of the band. They sent me the first letter. I still have it, not filled out, in the envelope it came in, with a hand written note from Pauline on it. Maybe brown shoes don't make but this letter does."

Thanks for sharing Nick!

In addition to all of her other works during her long career, Nobel and Pulitzer prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck wrote several 'juvenile fiction' Christmas-related stories.

This 'storybook insert' originally ran in the December, 1956 issue of Family Circle magazine (the same issue that provided last week's
Peter Lind Hayes & Mary Healy 'Night(mare) before Christmas'
photo-spread post).

The story was published in hardback form the following year, with different (non-Disney) artwork.

Other than "Visualized by
Walt Disney and Staff", I'm not finding any credit for individual artists on this piece.

If you have any insights or clues, I'd love to hear about it - - leave a comment or drop a line.

In 1956, Disney was running full-steam with their brand-new Anaheim theme park and two popular TV shows.

More and more of their visual output on TV and in theaters was live-action. Disney animation was still producing theatrical shorts, had released the feature-length 'Lady and The Tramp' the previous year, and began production in '56 for the 1959 release of 'Sleeping Beauty'.

So far, I see no evidence to suggest that there had been any plans by the Disney studios to produce an animated version of Pearl Buck's 'A Christmas Miniature'. Again, any info you might have on the topic is appreciated.

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Taking just a moment to direct you over to a gallery of images I posted at flickr and first linked to here at ILTS about fourteen months ago...

- Please follow link to my flickr set: Nostalgia for the Scholastic Book Club of the '60s & '70s

Since posting that set I've received nice feedback from time to time from folks who remember reading some of those books and others like them via The Scholastic Book Club back when they were kids.

I've updated the gallery a few times over the months, as I'll stumble upon more of these old titles in thrift shops and used book stores.

Today I just added 39 more images of book covers and illustrations, bringing the current total of the set up to 226.

The timing seemed right, as traffic to the flickr set spiked dramatically over the past few days, since being linked to in a post over at Boing Boing last Thursday.

Crazily, tens of thousands of people looked at the set over the weekend, and the sudden additional feedback has been most gratifying.

Many thanks to BB's Mark Fraunfelder, and to several other sites that have since picked up on it, including the
On Our Minds @ Scholastic blog from The Scholastic Book Club itself, still very much alive and well, and still generating excitement in the classroom!




























































































- The scans in this post are a sampling of the new images just added to
my flickr set:
Nostalgia for the
Scholastic Book Club
of the '60s & '70s
(click on link)

Pearls. An ascot.
Striped trousers and floral prints.

Lounging on the free-standing column spiral staircase and sipping Pepsi out of the bottle.

Good times...

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ADDENDUM, 11.10.08: A commenter on this post ventured a guess that perhaps the artist responsible for this ad may have been Austin Briggs, who'd worked in a similar style and had done ads for Pepsi around the same time.

I can certainly see similarities, but I see some marked differences, too.

Casting about the web, I found that commercial illustration authority Leif Peng has gathered together many such Pepsi ads from the era in a flickr set - - including this one.

As Peng has classified this ad as 'illustrator unknown', I think that's our answer - - for now...

- - Anything to add, anyone?

As is often the case, family life at home tends to center around the kitchen...

... but did it ever really look quite like this?

- - Even in 1959, when this Kelvinator refrigerator ad first appeared?

Is this living?

Click on image to ENLARGE in a new window, and/or view detail scans below...

... And for a closer look at the 'Foodarama Party Book' mentioned in the lower
left-hand corner, click over to
Curly Wurly!

It's not just me, right?

Nothing outrageous, but you see it too, right?

Odd perspective, featureless yellow void.

A rugged husband whose look of appreciation or relief at achieving 'coffee hunger' satisfaction looks just slightly unhealthy.

Is it merely a 'warm, good-to-be-alive feeling'?

His eyes are fixed firmly on the coffee pouring, not at all on the woman (his wife, yes?) standing outside the frame.

The kid in the background is so disconnected from the foreground that he may as well be reading his Sunday morning funnies on another planet.

What happened on Saturday night?

This advertisement for home deodorizers appeared in American magazines in 1958.

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Perhaps there's a message in this advertisement that's telling us how alike we are all over the world, but it gets just a bit muddled somehow.

In addition to polite statements of departure masking more critical sentiments, it's a bit curious that no one else at these gatherings seems troubled by any unpleasant odor.

Also worth noting is the notion that (unlike the 'Romance' languages shown) spoken Japanese apparently translates to broken English.

This image appeared on the cover to the August 7th, 1920 issue of Leslie's Illustrated Weekly Newspaper, just a few days prior to the ratification of Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, allowing women the right to vote.

The caption on the cover asks
"What Will She Do With It?", looking ahead to the presidential election coming that November, the first in which women in every state could exercise that right.










Cover artist James Montgomery Flagg
was one of the most in-demand illustrators in the U.S. by the time this magazine appeared.

The popularity of his World War I 'I Want You' recruitment poster just three years prior
(in which, out of convenience, he'd used his own face as a model for Uncle Sam) had certainly helped.

See also:
- An illustrated James Montgomery Flagg bio page at Bud Plant's 'Been Publishing, I'm Back'.

- A previously posted Leslie's Illustrated Weekly cover from the same election year;
'Columbia has her eye on You'

Attached extension speakers that swing-out from this 1967 portable AM/FM stereo's 'single compact unit' evoke the promise of the Boomboxes that Hitachi and everyone else would begin marketing in the '70s.

- - Don't you think so?

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See also:
The Vintage Boombox and Ghetto Blaster Museum at Pocket Calculator Show.Com

Hi-Fi Boombox: 1954 at Shorpy,
The 100-Year-Old Photo Blog