These cards
are by the
Monro Art Publishing Co. of New York. While spider webs
are often seen on New Year’s cards, presumably as a good luck
symbol, in the case
of the card below, the web is there to ensnare
the tiny, winged bachelors. In the card
on the right, the woman lays a small trap with
her heart as bait. These cards date
from 1910 and make no explicit reference to Leap
Year, although they may have been
created in anticipation of 1912. The artist is
apparently Calvert Smith, but beyond his
name, I could find no information on him.
According to Dr.
Lowe, "Not much is known about Calvert Smith
except that he
was an American freelance cartoonist and artist who
worked during the 1909-1012
period, designing beautiful woman and children
published by Reinthal & Newman
and Monro Art Publishing Co. and newspaper cartoons,
one of which was a humorous
depiction of the U.S. exploration of the North
Pole." |
