Lester Ralph Explained

Lester Ralph (1876 or 1877 – 1927) was an artist who illustrated for several publications.

Personal life

Ralph was the son of author and journalist Julian Ralph.[1]

In 1904, Ralph married war correspondent Elsie Reasoner, who became a famous model and sculptor.[2] [3] In 1913, she died of phlebitis in Lloyd, Florida, and was buried at the Ralph family plot in New Jersey.[4] On September 24, 1913, Lester married Pauline Rohl. Together they had three daughters: Pauline Ralph, born March 30, 1915, Jean Ralph, born April 19, 1917, and Eileen Ralph, born March 1, 1919.

Ralph survived typhoid but died of appendicitis at St. Luke's Hospital in New York on April 5, 1927.[5] [6] [7]

Work

Ralph painted war scenes of the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and First and Second Anglo-Boer wars.[8] His classic Girl Scout poster is part of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library collection.[9] The face from the poster was also used for Girl Scout pins.[10]

He and W. B. Wollen designed special menu cards for a dinner of dignitaries.[11] He illustrated his father's account "In the Wake of the War" from the Turkish side of the war with Greece.[12]

Ralph also covered the Anglo-Boer War.[13] [14]

He provided illustrations for Mark Twain's "Eve's Diary" in Harper's.[15] [16] When a Charlton, Massachusetts, library expelled the book due to nude depictions by Ralph, Twain commented amusedly on the irony of making the Bible freely available.[17]

Ralph illustrated stories in Scribner's Magazine and Collier's, as well as Owen Wister's 1906 novel Lady Baltimore.[18] [19] [20]

His illustrations of people dancing, including The One Step, featured on postcards and he also illustrated a Walk-Over shoe company catalog in 1916.[21] [22]

Ralph was one of the artists whose illustrations were included in the gift book A Book of Sweethearts marketed as having each picture a "climax of charm and color".[23]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Book: Pinney, Thomas. The Letters of Rudyard Kipling: Volume 3: 1900-10. December 13, 1995. Springer. 9781349137398. Google Books.
  2. Web site: New International Yearbook: A Compendium of the World's Progress. May 19, 1914. Google Books.
  3. Web site: Elsie Reasoner Ralph - Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951. sculpture.gla.ac.uk.
  4. Web site: Elsie (Reasoner) Ralph – 1996 Inductee. Osborne County Hall of Fame. September 12, 2012.
  5. Book: Orel, Harold. A Kipling Chronology. March 26, 1990. Springer. 9781349100330. Google Books.
  6. Web site: Mark Twain Uniform Editions - Ch 26 - $30,000 Bequest. www.twainquotes.com.
  7. News: Lester Ralph, Artist, Dies; Illustrated Twain's Work . . AP . New York . 9 . 1927-04-06 . 1927-04-07 . 2023-10-13 . Newspapers.com.
  8. Book: Tanner, James. The Instruments of Battle: The Fighting Drummers and Buglers of the British Army from the Late 17th Century to the Present Day. September 11, 2017. Casemate Publishers. 9781612003702. Google Books.
  9. Web site: Military Poster / Print: For a better womanhood -Girl Scouts Campaign: Oct. 25th to Nov. 1st 1919. . Pritzker Military Museum & Library . https://web.archive.org/web/20200703173730/http://www.pritzkermilitary.org/explore/museum/digital-collection/view/oclc/914350916 . July 3, 2020.
  10. Web site: Exhibitions. www.worldofscoutingmuseum.org.
  11. Web site: An American with Lord Roberts. Julian. Ralph. May 17, 1901. F.A. Stokes Company. Google Books.
  12. Web site: The Critic. Jeannette Leonard. Gilder. Joseph Benson. Gilder. May 17, 1898. Good Literature Publishing Company. Google Books.
  13. Book: Greenwall, Ryno. Artists & illustrators of the Anglo-Boer War. May 17, 1992. Fernwood Press. 9780958315425. Google Books.
  14. Web site: Black & White. May 17, 1900. H.S. Wood. Google Books.
  15. Book: Rasmussen, R. Kent. Critical Companion to Mark Twain: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. May 14, 2014. Infobase Publishing. 9781438108520. Google Books.
  16. Book: Rasmussen, R. Kent. Critical Companion to Mark Twain: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. May 14, 2014. Infobase Publishing. 9781438108520. Google Books.
  17. Web site: Mark Twain & Controversial Art. Jan. Kather. December 16, 2016.
  18. Web site: Scribner's Magazine. Edward Livermore. Burlingame. Robert. Bridges. Alfred Sheppard. Dashiell. Harlan. Logan. May 17, 1922. Charles Scribner%27s Sons. Google Books.
  19. Web site: Collier's. 1922. books.google.com.
  20. Book: Reading The Virginian in the New West. 0803271042. books.google.com. Graulich. Melody. Tatum. Stephen. 2003. U of Nebraska Press .
  21. Book: The Wicked Waltz and Other Scandalous Dances. 9780786453603. books.google.com. Knowles. Mark. 8 June 2009. McFarland .
  22. Web site: Ladies' Home Journal. 1915. books.google.com.
  23. Web site: The Book News Monthly. May 19, 1908. J. Wanamaker.. Google Books.

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