Charles Buckles Falls, also known as C. B. Falls (December 10, 1874 – April 15, 1960), was an American artist and member of the

Decorative Designers Decorative Designers AKA "DD" (1895–1931) was an American firm of artists, each of whom designed various aspects of books and other publications, "an early example of division of labor in creative work." The "DD" monogram appears on more than ...

, most known for his illustrations and writings. He is the author and illustrator of several books, including ''The ABC Book''. He is also known for his World War I poster advertisements, such as ''Books Wanted''.

Biography

Charles Buckles Falls was born on December 10, 1874, in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. In his early twenties he moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he began his career as an architect's assistant and as a sketch artist for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. While working as an architect's assistant, he taught himself how to draft and ultimately became a freelance artist. Unhappy with his salary, Falls left the ''Chicago Tribune'' and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

around 1900. While in New York, he struggled to find work until he met the artist and author

Joseph Pennell Joseph Pennell (July 4, 1857 – April 23, 1926) was an American draftsman, etcher, lithographer and illustrator for books and magazines. A prolific artist, he spent most of his working life in Europe, and is known for his interest in landmarks, l ...

Career

Falls illustrated many different books for various authors, as well as various magazines and posters. During World War I, he was a member of the

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. History Founding The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...

, with whom he produced war propaganda for the

Committee on Public Information The Committee on Public Information (1917–1919), also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee, was an independent agency of the government of the United States under the Wilson administration created to influence public opinion to support the ...

's Division of Pictorial Publicity. Falls illustrated posters throughout the war that promoted military recruitment as well as book drives to benefit soldiers overseas. This latter effort can be seen in his poster ''Books Wanted''. ''Books Wanted'' depicts a soldier carrying a stack of books. The caption reads: ''Books wanted for our men in camp and "over there". Take your gifts to the public library''. This poster was considered to be a success and brought Falls recognition, even though he designed the poster in less than 24 hours. In 1923, Falls teamed up with Doubleday editor

May Massee May Massee (May 1, 1881December 24, 1966) was an American children's book editor. She was the founding head of the children's literature, juvenile departments at Doubleday (publisher), Doubleday from 1922 and at Viking Press from 1932.William Nicholson's ''The Square Book of Animals''. Falls received good reviews for ''The ABC Book'', which was used to show that American authors were able to create work on the same level as their English peers. With this success, Falls would go on to illustrate several other children's books. While he is most commonly known for his illustrations of posters and books, Falls was also involved in many different art forms. He designed fabrics, furniture, and even trade bindings. He was also involved in stage design, helping to design scenery and costumes for the American Society of Illustrators, as well as the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

and

Fifth Avenue Theatre Fifth Avenue Theatre was a Broadway theatre in New York City in the United States located at 31 West 28th Street and Broadway (1185 Broadway). It was demolished in 1939. Built in 1868, it was managed by Augustin Daly in the mid-1870s. In 1877, ...

in New York. In 1914, Falls wrote, directed, and starred in a play called "Perfectly Happy" that performed at the Berkeley Theatre. Falls also created designs and illustrations for various magazines, including ''

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'', ''

Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publication as of January 2019 and now operates an article-comprise ...

'', ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

'', and '' Everybody's'' magazines, as well as various companies such as Dodd, Meade, & Co., Edison & Co., and Marshall Field & Co. After the 1930s, Falls began to receive fewer commissions. The dramatic, aggressive, and colorful style that had brought him success was no longer considered fashionable in the changing graphic art world. Nevertheless, Falls still produced work, such as his books ''The First 3000 Years'' and ''The Story of Christmas''.

Style

Join me - the first to fight on land and sea - U

Falls is known for his skill as a letter-illustrator, often using large, "eccentric" black letters. He is also known for his woodblocks. Unlike most woodblock artists of his time, Falls incorporated brighter colors of blue, green, orange, and yellow, to contrast his black-inked woodcuts. While working in Chicago, it is believed that Fall's style was inspired by the work of Phil May and

Edward Penfield Edward Penfield (June 2, 1866 – February 8, 1925) was an American illustrator in the era known as the "Golden Age of American Illustration" and he is considered the father of the American poster. His work has been included in almost every majo ...

. After moving to New York, he would be influenced by the work of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

. Fall's signature also features its own style. On many of his illustrations, Falls drew a small box with his name or simply with the initial "F". This signature became so well known that eventually he was able to drop the initial from the box.

Awards and exhibitions

In 1960, Falls was recognized for his work with the Benjamin West Clinedinst Memorial Medal, which is awarded for exceptional artistic merit. He was an honorary president of the Artists Guild. Falls' artwork has been featured at many museums, including an exhibition of World War I posters at the

Pritzker Military Museum and Library The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and a research library for the study of military history on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The institution was founded in 2003, and its sp ...

. His collection can be found at the Chapin Library of

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

Personal life and death

On March 15, 1917, Falls married Bedelia M. Croly, with whom he had a daughter, Bedelia Jane. Many of his books were dedicated to his daughter, including ''The ABC Book'', which he created to help her learn the alphabet. Charles Buckles Falls died age 85 on April 15, 1960.

Gallery

File:This Device on Hat of Helmet Means U.S. Marines.jpg, File:1917 CampLibrary byCBFalls ALA LC.png, File:Now for some music LCCN2002709060.jpg, File:The U.S. Marines want you LCCN2002709061.tif, File:U.S. Engineers - Foremost LCCN2002709063.tif, File:Learn to make and test the big guns - better yourself, enlist and learn a trade in the Ordnance Dept LCCN2002699006.jpg, File:Put the pennant beside the flag-Both spell victory LCCN2002709050.tif, File:For our aviators-Send us something to melt or sell - gold, silver, plate LCCN2002709070.jpg, File:Teufel Hunden US Marines recruiting poster.jpg, File:E-e-e-yah-yip LCCN2002709056.jpg,

References

External links

A poster illustrated by C.B. FallsAudio about C.B. Falls from Pritzker Military Museum & Library exhibit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falls, Charles Buckles 1874 births 1960 deaths Writers from Fort Wayne, Indiana Chicago Tribune people American war artists American children's book illustrators American children's writers Artists from Indiana Artists from New York City Writers from New York City Artists from Fort Wayne, Indiana