Tales from the Island of Serendip 4 4

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...and lining up more Illustrated Press and Vanguard monographs of the greats for coming days....

[Flex Mentallo]

Unfortunately, the Baumhofer book's contents no longer seem extant on any of the usual sites, so we will have to endure my homely snaps!

[Randall Dowling]

Wow.  It's been a while since I checked in on this thread and I just want to say thanks @Flex Mentallo for all of the excellent posts!  A lot of the material in here is first rate and I can't wait to spend a Saturday afternoon doing a deep dive.  

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WALTER BAUMHOFER

 

(1904-1987)

Walter Martin Baumhofer was born November 1, 1904 in Brooklyn. His parents were German immigrants, Marie and Henry Baumhofer.

In 1919 at the age of fourteen he accidentally blew three fingers off his left hand while handling a live round of ammunition, which was a relic of the Great War. The accident left him unfit for manual labor, so he began to seriously pursue a career as an artist. He graduated high school in 1922 and was given a scholarship to attend Pratt Institute. John Gould joined him there one year later. They both studied under Dean Cornwell and H. Winfield Scott.

In 1925, while still an art student, he began his career by drawing pen & ink story illustrations for Adventure magazine. His painting teacher, H. Winfield Scott, convinced him to think more ambitiously about working for the pulps, and to submit unsolicited cover paintings instead of waiting for more drawing assignments. Baumhofer followed his advice and in 1926 sold his first pulp cover to Clayton Publications for Danger Trail.

In 1930 he married his wife, Alureda, whose nickname was "Pete."

He  became the top cover artist. He created the first covers of Doc Savage, The Spider, and Pete Rice.

In 1937 he joined the American Artists agency and began to sell freelance illustrations to slick magazines, such as American Weekly, Colliers,Cosmopolitan, Country Gentleman, Esquire, Liberty, McCall's, Redbook, and Woman's Day.

During WWII he was thirty-nine years old and missing three fingers, so he was exempt from military service.

In the 1950s he worked for men's adventure magazines, such as Argosy,Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, and True.

After he retired from freelance magazine illustration he stayed very busy painting and exhibiting portraits, landscapes, and scenes of the Old West at fine art galleries nationwide.

In 1978 he was thrilled to be "re-discovered" by enthusiastic fans of pulp magazines. He was a guest speaker and the Guest of Honor at several conventions. He was also featured and interviewed in several fanzines.

Walter M. Baumhofer died at age eighty-two on September 23, 1987.

 

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