a a, this book is a sort of "Gibson's greatest hits." Most of the pictures had already appeared in earlier collections. The original cartoons ran in "Life" magazine circa 1880-1895 (this was the original humor weekly "Life," not the later newsphoto weekly with the same title). Gibson's cartoons would usually appear on the centerfold, one picture spreading across the two pages. A lot of them poked very gentle fun at concerns of the day like the growing role of women in public life or a supposed influx of penniless European "noblemen" coming to marry American girls for their money. Others were just observations of everyday life. Gibson excelled in drawing expressions and did many drawings depicting sports spectators, theater goers, and such. His drawings made him famous and quite wealthy. He toured England and France and published books collecting the drawings he made there. Some appear in this collection. Though the majority of Gibson's cartoons were one-shots, he also created a running storyline, "The Adventures of Mr Pipp," based on his European travels. The story unfolded in a series of weekly centerfold cartoons which were quite popular. A giant of American illustration! He influenced dozens of pen-and-ink artists, including James Montgomery Flagg who was in turn the mentor of comic book great Everett Raymond Kinstler.
Link to the book:
Pictures of People
