The Vallely Archives

The Artist Revealed!

2007-10-29T08:05:00.001-07:00

For the first time ever, we now know what Henry E. Vallely looked like! Apparently taken while in his 20s, this portrait has been provided courtesy of his granddaughter Pamela Joy McMorrow, to whom I'm very grateful. Mrs. McMorrow has been kind enough offer a few rare photographs of her grandfather as well as some of his never before published sketches from an old family album which I will be posting in the not too distant future. Special thanks must also be given to fellow Vallely collector John Pansmith for his help in bringing these to The Vallely Archives.

Not the Batmobile (Secret Origins of Batman Part 6)

2007-09-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Over at the excellent Dial B for Blog, Robby Reed recently posted several comparisons of Bob Kane's artwork with Henry Vallely's. While I feel that some of the connections he makes are too different to be fairly labeled as swipes, he does make clear that Kane's drawings were undoubtedly inspired by those of Henry Vallely. One example provided by Reed is of Commissioner Gordon's car from 1939's Detective Comics #27 as compared with a getaway car found on page 365 of 1938's Gang Busters In Action (BLB 1451). The more accurate comparison is found on page 141, which, as displayed above, can legitimately be called a swipe.

Robbers' Roost

2007-09-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

As demonstrated in the pages of his numerous western themed Big Little Books, Henry Vallely had an affinity for illustrating horses. The above painting, the frontispiece for Zane Grey's Western Magazine Vol. 1, No. 3 from 1947, was a teaser for the issues' featured novel Robbers' Roost by Zane Grey.

Play Football

2007-08-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

Although unsigned, this 1934 box cover for a Play Football board game bears all of the earmarks of a Vallely. In previous years he had illustrated two football themed dust jackets for Elmer A. Dawson's Garry Grayson series, and two years later would provide the cover for William Heyliger's tale of the gridiron, Fighting Blood. This is his first artwork for a board game that I'm aware of.

Play Ball!

2007-08-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

As the subtitle suggests, Robert Smith's Hit's, Runs, & Errors was comprised of the best yarns and anecdotes from his 1947 book Baseball. This 1949 abridgment features what was probably not only one of his last sports themed covers (and only his second for Baseball), but one of his last published works.

Tarzan is Batman (Secret Origins of Batman Part 5)

2007-07-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

The first thing that needs to be pointed out is that the above black & white illustration is not by Henry Vallely.
For years I've looked at the iconic pose of Batman in his first published origin in Detective Comics # 33 (November, 1939) and known it was not purely from the imagination of Bob Kane. Not only had I previously found several other illustrations that Kane (or whoever was ghosting for him) had swiped from the pages of Big Little Books illustrated by Vallely, but frankly that pose was just too good to be Kane. So I've long had the belief that that particular pose of the Dark Knight crouched on a roof top was simply another Vallely illustration that I had yet to discover. A few years ago I became aware of Large Feature Comics No. 5, published by Dell in 1938, the bulk of which consisted of reprints of 60 Tarzan story strips from 1929 and is considered to be the first full comic book devoted to Tarzan in the comic book format. According to one source, in addition to the Hal Foster strips, it featured additional art and splash pages by Juanita Bennett. Another source attributed these supplementary drawings to Henry E. Vallely. Given the rarity of the book it wasn't until a few months ago that I was able to acquire a copy for myself and determine the truth: in order to enhance the continuity of the stories, Henry E. Vallely added one additional panel per page, along with ten full page chapter drawings. However, the pose appropriated for Batman's origin (found on page 42, panel 4) can not be credited to Vallely, but rather to Harold "Hal" Foster.

Tarzan® is © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
Batman is © DC Comics

Vallely In The Comics

2007-07-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

One year after the publication of S.O.S. Coast Guard (BLB 1191) in 1936, the story was adapted and modified for the fourth issue of The Comics. The Comics was a bi-monthly Dell publication which primarily reprinted newspaper strips, similar to their earlier effort The Funnies, though this time in the standard comic book format. This usage of material that was created exclusively for the Whitman Publishing Co. preceded by one year a partnership that Dell would enter with the Western Printing and Lithographing Co. (Whitman's parent company). A Republic serial of S.O.S. Coast Guard starring Ralph Byrd was also released in 1937.

That's Amore!

2007-02-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

This Valentine's Day themed cover for Buick Magazine was created for the February 1947 issue (Volume 8, Number 8). Much like the cover from September of 1938, this also has the sort of wholesome feel that is more associated with The Saturday Evening Post than an automotive promotional periodical. Though this piece was created towards the end of his career, Henry Vallely still had no problem capturing innocence, charm and beauty.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

75 years ago Henry Vallely created this cover for Everygirls celebrating the new year. This piece is a little unusual for him in that the line work is especially delicate and a solid color (rather than black) is used to define the negative space.

Inner-Player

2006-12-01T22:30:00.000-08:00

This issue of the Saturday Evening Post from October 30, 1909 reveals another illustration created by Henry Vallely for a local Chicago business. The Inner-Player was a rather sophisticated player piano produced by The Cable Company which claimed to be "the world's greatest manufacturer of pianos, inner player pianos, and organs."

All Hallows' Eve

2006-10-06T10:28:00.000-07:00

From October of 1932 we have Henry Vallely's take on the annual observance of Halloween. This was the 2nd of three pattern covers he created for Everygirls.

Sirrah, a Shepherd Dog

2006-09-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

Dog Stories was a collection of classic canine chronicles adapted and condensed for children by author Frances Cavanah. While it was published at least 4 times (once as part of the book Big Big Favorite Stories, as well part of Annual Whopper Book), the back cover image presented here is from the Whitman Publishing Company 1944 edition. It's possible that it was published with a painted cover of a boy hugging his collie (also rendered by Vallely) to capitalize on the success of the first Lassie movie, Lassie Come Home. This particular dog in Frances Cavanah's book is a shepherd named Sirrah whose owner was James Hogg, the shepherd-poet of Scotland.

Captain Olson (Secret Origins of Batman Part 4)

2006-08-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

In previous posts I examined Henry Vallely's influence on Bob Kane in Detective Comics 1933, but here we see an even earlier influence. From the comic book which featured the first appearance of Batman, the 3rd panel of Detective Comics #27 (cover dated May 1939) gives us our first good look at Commissioner Gordon. Returning once again to 1938's Gang Busters In Action (BLB 1451), we find on page 11 a character in a familiar pose who may well be the prototype for Commissioner Gordon. Coincidentally this character is also a member of the police force, named Captain Olson.
Commissioner Gordon is © DC Comics.

Back to School

2006-08-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

While this may seem like an unusual cover for a periodical published by a major automotive company, it was fairly common for The Buick Magazine to not feature their cars on the cover of their monthly journal which was issued to Buick owners by Buick Division of GMC through Buick dealers. On this one from September of 1938 we see an example of Henry Vallely's style which might have found favor at the Saturday Evening Post. This is one of four cover illustrated by Vallely for The Buick Magazine that I'm aware of.

Seeing Spots

2006-08-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

Two spot illustrations from the contents page of the April 1931 issue of Everygirls magazine (Volume XVIII, No. 8). Both are reproduced here at approximately 3.5 times their original printed size and represent the development of a simplicity and economy in Vallely's linework. Also note one of the early incarnations of his signature as simply "VAL".

Solving Your Style Problem

2006-07-28T16:11:00.000-07:00

With The Great War having officially ended just a few months before, The Printz-Biederman Company of Cleveland, Ohio embarked on a campaign to ease a problem plaguing the modern woman - her style. Given that they were one of America's oldest manufacturer of women's apparel they must have known what they were doing. Their Printzess line of women's fashions helped to elevate the status of ready-to-wear garments to that of those produced by professional dressmakers. This advertisement from the Ladies Home Journal of October 1919 is one of three illustrated and signed by Henry Vallely for Printzess, and the only one in color.

They're D..Dead (Secret Origins of Batman Part 3)

2006-07-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

At first glance this may not be the most obvious example of an artist plagiarizing the work of Henry Vallely, but further perusal of Junior G-Men and the Counterfeiters (BLB 1442) reveals that it is peppered with the above character (know as Bill Boyd) who is clearly the model for not only young Bruce Wayne in Detective Comics #33, but young circus performer Dick Grayson in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940) prior to becoming Robin. In this case Bob Kane (or whoever was ghosting for him) dug back a little further to 1937.
Bruce Wayne is © DC Comics.

X-Ray Vision

2006-07-05T03:21:00.000-07:00

What is sexy?
Years before the alter ego of a certain mild-mannered reporter ever considered examining the undergarments of his crush, Henry Vallely was depicting a similar act in order to advertise the perfect fit and style of Modart Corsets.
This particular ad was published in the November 1926 edition of the Women's Home Companion, an excellent source for some of the greatest illustrators of the early 20th century.

Wanna Buy a Duck?

2006-06-30T00:13:00.000-07:00

In 1934, arguably at the height of his popularity, radio star Joe Penner was featured in his own book for Goldsmith Publishing's Radio Star Series. Similar to Big Little Books, the 64 page publication alternated pages of text by Harold Sherman with illustrations by Henry Vallely in a 5" x 5 1/8" x 1/2" format. Penner's catchphrase was "Wanna buy a duck?", hence the book's title Joe Penner's Duck Farm. This particular page (39) was acquired through eBay for just over $40 in March of 2006 - a steal!

Early Years

2006-06-11T23:52:00.000-07:00

Presented here is the cover of What-To-Eat, Book Thirteen, No. Two from August of 1902 and it's the earliest work of Henry Vallely I've been able to track down. A mere 21 at the time he was apparently already capable of producing a large volume of work on a regular basis, as evidenced by the additional 21 spot illustration within the magazine. His style was still being developed, for though he favored a heavy use of black ink, his line work is looser and sketchier than it would become once he started working for Whitman.

Secret Origins of Batman Part 2

2006-06-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

Today we return to 1938s Gang Busters In Action (BLB 1451) and two panels (pages 57 and 49) which it's safe to say were somewhat influential to the Batman mythos. The bottom panel is again from Detective Comics #33 (November, 1939) which was the first appearance of Batman's origin. For years Bob Kane was given sole credit for the art, but in the recently released Batman Chronicles Volume One he finally shares credit with Sheldon Moldoff on inks. Careful observers will note that the same pose of the killer (Joe Chill) made an earlier appearance in Detective Comics #27 (May, 1939) on the second page, bottom, middle panel. For that issue Bob Kane maintains sole art credit. To this day Henry E. Vallely receives none.
Bruce Wayne, Thomas Wayne, Martha Wayne and Joe Chill are all © DC Comics

Oomph Girl

2006-06-04T23:36:00.000-07:00

Ann Sheridan was known for being cast as either the girl next door or the tough broad, and in this opening illustration for Ann Sheridan and the Sign of the Sphinx (Whitman Authorized Edition 2390, 1943), Henry Vallely chose to portray the former trait. As John Pansmith pointed out in his article for the Big Little Times, "He also had an uncommon knack for drawing easily recognizable movie stars and celebrities and fitting them in amid fictional characters". Vallely was able to demonstrate this in the fourteen Whitman Authorized Editions produced between 1942 and 1947 featuring celebrities of the day such as Shirley Temple, Jane Withers and Gregory Peck.

Always Front Laced

2006-06-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

The notion of beauty has certainly evolved over the years, and in the first two decades of the 20th century the corset was still used to define it. Vallely produced at least 12 illustrations for the Modart Corset Company between 1918 and 1926, and the one above (from Pictorial Review of October 1920) is perhaps the most unusual. Rather than a portrait of a sophisticated socialite, this ad portrays more of an ethereal fantasy; a Romanesque goddess gently caressing a globe as a torch blazes behind her.
For years I was only aware of Valley's drawings for Big Little Books and Authorized Editions and had no clue as to his experience in advertising illustration, but in May of 2002 John Pansmith published an article in the Big Little Times which revealed the up to that point unknown history of Henry Valley. Through detective work that would make Batman proud, Pansmith had uncovered Vallely’s full name (Henry McKee Eustice Vallely), his year of birth and death (1881-1950) and compiled a list of all his known illustrations. Through the Big little Times’ founder and editor, Larry Lowery, I got in touch with Mr. Pansmith and began a correspondence. Together we’ve discovered several lost Vallely treasures and he’s been an indispensable aid in my quest for all things Vallely, this advertisement for Modart being one of them.
Thanks John!

Western Round Up

2006-05-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

In his later years Henry Valley was finding work illustrating stories in Zane Grey's Western Magazine, but he was by no means unfamiliar with the genre. Two-Gun Montana, Tom Mix and the Hoard of Montezuma and The Lone Ranger Follows Through were just a few of the Big Little Books his artwork accompanied in the late 1930's and early 1940's. His work for Zane Grey was generally two drawing per 7½" x 5¼" page, with a slightly larger image for the splash. The level of detail for these illustrations was greater than that found in his Big Little work, but not as embellished as his drawings for Whitman's Authorized Editions. Both of the above pieces are from 1947. The top one illustrated Carl Smith's Tom Rynning's Long Ride from Vol. 1, No. 2. The bottom one illustrated Smith's Uncle Billy and the Doolin Gang from Vol. 1, No. 4.

A Girl and Her Dog

2006-05-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Most of Henry Vallely’s employers were based in his home state of Illinois, and the Burson Knitting Company was no exception. Of the three illustrations he did for their Fashioned Hose line that I’m aware of, this one features perhaps the most wholesome looking young lady. While this trait was common in his line drawings for Big Little Books and Whitman Authorized Editions, the women he painted for his advertising work are often of a more matronly appearance, at least to these 21st century eyes. This piece comes from a March Good Housekeeping of an unknown year (best guess, 1919).

Everygirls

2006-05-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

Everygirls, the official magazine of the Camp Fire Girls, was one of the first publications produced for young girls. In addition to being its cover artist from 1930 to 1933, he also contributed the occasional spot illustration. This striking cover is from May of 1930.

Gang Busters! (Secret Origins of Batman Part 1)

2006-05-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

My first encounter with the work of Henry Vallely occurred around 1986 while attending one of Bruce Schwartz’s conventions at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. My friend Dan Riba picked up one of the Big Little Books a vendor had on the table and started flipping through the pages. He pointed out one of the illustrations and asked me if it looked familiar. We were both lifelong comic book fans and were well versed in the “classics” of the golden and silver age so within a heartbeat I realized that we were looking at a swipe from Detective Comics #33 from November of 1939, specifically the panel in which Bruce Wayne contemplates the nature of criminals (“… a superstitious and cowardly lot…”). Or so we thought. As it turned out, the copyright of the book (Gang Busters In Action, BLB 1451) was 1938 and we realized that it was Bob Kane who had done the swiping! Further perusal revealed at least a half dozen other poses familiar to Batfans, some of which I plan to upload in the future. In the meantime, compare the two for yourself.
Bruce Wayne is © DC Comics.