Some obscure Fred Ray patriotic art for our nations birthday. 0

[shadroch]

According to wikipedia, Fred Ray was discovered at age 20 and went to work for National comics in 1940.   In 1939, just out of high school, Fred Ray wrote an illustrated history of the battle of Gettysburg. With the 75th Anniversary approaching, the Gettysburg Times agreed to print up copies. As they have no price on the cover and I've never seen one with a price sticker, I'm not sure how they were distributed. 

This is the 1939 version of the book- 

Edited July 1, 2022 by shadroch

[shadroch]

In 1961, he updated the book, using finer lines in the sketches.

There are a few changes in the versions, perhaps reflecting national sentiment.

Here is the 1961 book

 

Edited July 1, 2022 by shadroch

[shadroch]

He did a number of these for historic events. In 1959, he did a pamphlet for Fort McHenry to raise funds to restore it

[Robot Man]

On 7/1/2022 at 10:51 AM, shadroch said:

According to wikipedia, Fred Ray was discovered at age 20 and went to work for National comics in 1940.   In 1939, just out of high school, Fred Ray wrote an illustrated history of the battle of Gettysburg. With the 75th Anniversary approaching, the Gettysburg Times agreed to print up copies. As they have no price on the cover and I've never seen one with a price sticker, I'm not sure how they were distributed. 

This is the 1939 version of the book- 

Wow, nice unique piece! Thanks for posting. Sadly, after about 150 years, we seem to have forgotten a lot…

[shadroch]

They are a nice piece of history, and I think they are very undervalued.  I see them on ebay for pennies, and most sellers don't know the difference between the two. 

[Readcomix]

Thank you for sharing these!

[Yorick]

On 7/1/2022 at 10:51 AM, shadroch said:

In 1961, he updated the book, using finer lines in the sketches.

There are a few changes in the versions, perhaps reflecting national sentiment.

Here is the 1961 book

Abner looks quite different between the two editions...

Very interesting seeing the progression of his "style".  His Superman Action Comics covers are right near the top of my all-time favorite Superman covers.