A website devoted to the rediscovery of the works of early 20th century illustrator Henry E. Vallely (1881-1950). Perhaps best known for his chiaroscuro technique employed in Big Little Books, he also produced a large volume of work including fashion illustrations for women's magazines, spot illustrations for food periodicals, magazine covers and children's books. His art is distinctive and timeless and deserves the recognition that has until this time eluded it. Comments and contributions towards the preservation of the H. E. Vallely legacy are most welcome. All images are believed to be in the public domain unless otherwise noted.

Friday, January 05, 2007

Happy New Year!

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.

Labels: ,

posted by DSK at 19:36 | 0 comments

Friday, October 06, 2006

All Hallows' Eve

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.

Labels: ,

posted by DSK at 10:28 | 0 comments

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Seeing Spots


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".

Labels: ,

posted by DSK at 19:14 | 1 comments

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Everygirls


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.

Labels: ,

posted by DSK at 18:05 | 0 comments