Edwin J. Meeker

by

Laine Farley

The illustration of New York’s skyline from an earlier era was appealing  and the book it advertised, The Claw: A Story of South Africa by Cynthia Stockley, was unknown to me but intriguing. After doing a quick search for the illustrator, Edwin J. Meeker, I realized research about his work could be an interesting pursuit and indeed it was.

First, I came across a wonderful web site created by Mr. Meeker’s great-grandson, Rick Glasby, as a tribute to his work as an illustrator for newspapers, magazines, books, and even postcards in the late 1800s through early 1900s. I sent Rick a copy of the bookmark which he was thrilled to receive since he had not seen other bookmarks with his ancestor’s work.

Although Rick has documented a great deal of Meeker’s work, I set out to learn more.  Edwin James Meeker was born in 1853 in Newark, NJ, and lived much of his life in East Orange, NJ. He married Abbie Ward Hedden in 1879 and was living with her father’s family during the Census of 1880. By 1900, he and Abbie had their own household bustling with five children.

He worked for a number of publishers of popular illustrated magazines of the day including The Century, Scribner’s, Harper’s, and the like. Early in his career, he was described by Perriton Maxwell in “The Illustrations of the Quarter,” The Quarterly Illustrator, v. 1, 1893, p. 204, as  follows: “A rapid worker and well-informed illustrator is E. J. Meeker, whose quick if somewhat careless touch has resulted in the page-drawing of a great fire here given. Mr. Meeker is a facilist with the natural failings of all hurried workmen.” The drawings referred to are on p. 197 and were originally published in Frank Leslie’s Weekly. They do have a less refined quality than the scene on my bookmark, and maybe Mr. Meeker was spurred by this criticism to develop a more refined technique.

However, in 1891 Ernest Knaufft had analyzed Meeker’s technique in two articles.  In the first, “Pen Drawing for Illustration – XXIII, Landscape,” Art Amateur: A Monthly Journal Devoted to Art in the Household (1879-1903), v. 25 (6), Nov 1892, p. 137, he discusses Meeker’s “Off the Fishing Coast” and a work by another illustrator as he considers “landscape work from the point of view of a newspaper.” He pronounces Meeker’s example the best for the purpose due to the way the lines are used to convey black or gray, “a very fine example of practical newspaper work.” He also observed that “each and every individual object in Mr. Meeker’s drawing is clearly defined.” He continued this analysis in the second article published in Dec. 1891, p. 8, “Pen Drawing for Illustration – XXIV, Landscape” using “Christmas in New England” as the subject. He noted that it is less graphic than the previous example but that its simple technique fits it for printing in a newspaper and it is effective in using white space as well as grays and blacks to suggest the wintry scene.

An anonymous article titled “A Lesson in Pen Drawing” in the same magazine in the Nov. 1892 issue (v. 27, n. 6, p. 147, 150-151) analyzed “Winter in the Adirondacks,” that was “made for the pleasure it gave the artist – not for reproduction” and contrasted the techniques with those he would use in a drawing meant to be reproduced. Again, the scene was praised for expressing a great deal in a simple way and effectively conveying the cold, the quality of the sky and the almost frozen ice.

Knaufft reprised his critique of Meeker’s work in an article titled “Drawing for Illustration,” Art Amateur, v. 29 (4), Sep 1893, p. 88 by examining “Buildings at the World’s Fair” and his use of the roulette technique of  “crossing the lines with a pen charged with Chinese white” to create a textured effect. Further, he praised Meeker for delivering exactly what was wanted by those seeking this type of illustration for commercial purposes. He concluded that “Mr. Meeker is unsurpassed as a pen draughtsman in rendering architectural and landscape subjects from photographs.”

Someone at the Art Amateur magazine, possibly Mr. Knaufft, was impressed enough with Meeker’s technique to invite him to be interviewed for two articles, both titled “Simple lessons in pen drawing. Hints by Mr. E. J. Meeker on illustrating” appearing in v.  28 (3), Feb 1893, p. 80, and v.  28 (4), Mar 1893, p. 104.  Meeker began by observing that “For anyone who intends to make a living by illustrating it is best not to confine himself to one line of work.” He continued with the advice that “You may be making a specialty attain to greater excellence in this one branch, but you will find, unless you achieve a great reputation for one particular thing, that you are called upon continually to furnish drawings of figures, buildings, and landscapes as the story or subject may require.” He went on to give detailed information about newspaper illustration, technique and the need to have “firmness, lightness, precision and freedom of touch,” all qualities that he appeared to demonstrate with ease.

In “The natural bent of an artist’s mind. With original illustrations by many artists,” Monthly Illustrator and Home and Country v. 2 (7) , 1894, p. 237-252 which provided statements by artists about their work, Meeker is said to be “satisfied to devote his best skill to any subject with figures” (p. 248).  However, the diversity of his subject matter reinforces the advice he gave to aspiring illustrators.

A New York Times article titled “A Model Sunday Journal : Some of the Interesting Features in Next Sunday's Times. An Abundance and Diversity of Reading Matter That Many Monthly Magazines Do Not Supply,” dated June 20, 1902 described a new feature magazine with an abundance of illustrations. “The demand for pictures of wild animals has made necessary a new phase of animal training. George E. Walsh will tell how animals are taught to pose for photographers and artists, and E. J. Meeker conveys in effective illustrations some experiences in that line.” He was known for his skill in translating larger photographs into small illustrations for Battles and leaders of the Civil War: being for the most part contributions by Union and Confederate officers : based upon "The Century War series published in 1887.  He also illustrated books on English cathedrals as well as children’s books and magazines. He even turned his skill toward an intricate Japanese koro or incense burner in “Decoration & Furniture: Talks with Decorators. IV.—John La Farge on the Re-Decoration of the American Meeting House,: Art Amateur; v. 17(1) Jun 1887, p. 16.

In fact, it is easy to find many examples of Meeker’s work and I did not pursue all of them. In many cases, magazines listed illustrators as a group without crediting individual illustrations. I did note a few examples connected to California, in contrast to the bulk of his work featuring New York or other eastern environs.  The fascinating article by George H. Fitch on “Millionaires of the Pacific Coast,” Cosmopolitan, v 3 (6), Aug 1887, p. 345-357 includes wonderful depictions of the home of Leland Stanford (p. 346) and the J. C. Flood residence in San Francisco (p. 351). And there is a view of the “State Capital at Sacramento” from the Honeyman collection at UC Berkeley that is in the Online Archive of California, hosted by my library. Did he travel to California, quite a journey in those days, or did he render these from photographs?

My favorites have to be his illustrations of libraries which he seemed to approach with particular enjoyment. The earliest was mentioned in a note in The Critic, v 4 n 94, 17 Oct 1885, p. 191, which announced that Henry du Bois planned to publish a book called  New York Bibliophile with illustrations by Meeker and T. de Thulstrup. I could not locate the book but I found one of Meeker’s illustrations in The library & art collection of Henry de Pene du Bois, of New York, an auction catalog for his collection published in 1887.  The man pictured as “Ye Bibliophile” seems overwhelmed by his books as he sleeps in his chair with an appropriate quote from Edgar Allen Poe below.

On January 12, 1891, the Literary Notes section of the New York Times, p. 3 reported the following:

The December number of Le Livre Moderne, the monthly magazine for book lovers, edited and published in Paris by Octave Uzanne, President of the ‘Societe des Bibliophiles Contemporains’, contains on page 369 a pretty tailpiece. It is a view of a library room made by Edwin J. Meeker. Even Mr. Octave Uzanne does not know, and all admirers of bibliophilists will be glad to learn, that it is a faithful picture of the library room of Mr. William L.  Andrews, President of the Grolier Club.

The detail in this illustration conveys the use made of the room by its owner, a place well-loved and occupied frequently. I think I even spy a bookmark hanging from one of the books underneath the table.

For an article on “New Publications: Books on Art,” Art Amateur, v. 31 (5), Oct 1894, p. 108, he provided a small but intriguing “Glimpse of Lenox Library from Central Park” with a lady reading in a cozy spot in the garden. A fascinating article by William Fletcher  titled “The Public Library Movement” in Cosmopolitan, v 18, 1895, p. 99-106 summarized the state of free libraries in the nation, noting that nine states had no public libraries and that most were found in Massachusetts. Meeker’s illustration of the Astor Library on p. 104 featured an elegant man gazing at display cases with the building’s impressive arches and columns in the background. A cozier scene appeared on p. 106 for “An Alcove in the New York Society’s Library.” This article concluded with the hopeful thought that “it is not too much to expect that the free public library will thus be recognized by one state after another as one of the greatest agencies for public education, to be employed everywhere to supplement the public schools by furnishing to the whole people the readiest means of culture and enlightenment.” (p. 106).

In “A Vacation on Fifth Avenue”, The Outlook, v 83, 1906, p. 199 (bottom of page), Meeker depicts the New York Public Library as “one of the Avenue’s most beautiful and valuable possessions,” bustling with people and carriages in front of its inspiring façade.

Other glimpses of Meeker’s life surfaced in my research. In a note in the journal, Studio v. 3 (67), 1884, p. 179-180, there was apparently a report that Meeker leased Thulstrup’s studio in New York. He was another artist of the same period and co-illustrated the book for Henry du Bois with Meeker. In the Annual report of the Committee on Fire Patrol, to the New York Board of Fire Underwriters on May 23 1888, a “Sig.  339” was reported at 6 W. fourteenth St., a four-story brownstone studio occupied by E. J. Meeker and  Mrs. H. Watkins. Was this the same studio and was it some kind of false alarm? There will be no speculation on Mrs. Watkins’s role.

The most interesting connection was finding Meeker’s passport application in May 1918 in which he applied to visit Cuba for three months “to secure illustrations for history of Cuba.” His “Views of Cuba,” presumably begun on this trip and possibly others, is documented here along with other (and somewhat inaccurate) information about Meeker, and is for sale as a collection for $38,000.  His great-grandson also made a nice video about this phase of his work.

Meeker’s obituary in the New York Times, December 7, 1929, was simple but hinted at his interesting life:

E. J. Meeker’s Funeral Today. Funeral services will be held today in East Orange, N. J. for Edwin James Meeker, magazine illustrator, who died in his home there after a five weeks’ illness at the age of 76. His ancestors settled in New Jersey in 1760. Burial will be in Rosedale Cemetery, East Orange.

Returning to where I began, the bookmark is a fine and representative example of Meeker’s work, an architectural scene, set in New York with action and depth. I realized I had seen it before on a bookmark found in the “Trade catalogs of booksellers, 1875-1930” at UC Santa Barbara. That example advertised a different book, The Rosary by Florence L. Barclay which was published about the same time as Stockley’s book. Presumably, the bookmark design was a stock illustration used by the publisher for different titles, clearly with no particular relation to the subject matter. I tried to locate another source that used the illustration since it seemed like a lot of work for use just on a bookmark, but had no success. Nonetheless, the bookmark served its purpose and the little credit, “Drawn by Edwin J. Meeker,” was enough to lead me to the rest of his work that so ably documented the interests of the day.

Bookmark specifications: The Skyline of Lower New York City, from the Hudson River Drawn by Edwin J. Meeker / The Claw: A Story of South Africa by Cynthia Stockley
Dimensions: 2/5/8" x 7"
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap or Putnam?
Date: 1911?
Acquired: eBay

Laine Farley is a digital librarian who misses being around the look, feel and smell of real books.  Her collection of over 3,000 bookmarks began with a serendipitous find while reviewing books donated to the library. Fortunately, her complementary collection of articles and books about bookmarks provides an excuse for her to get back to libraries and try her hand at writing about bookmarks. Contact Laine.