Harold Warner Reynolds, simply known as James Reynolds, or also with the nickname Jimmy (October 22, 1891 in

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

– July 21, 1957 in

Bellagio Bellagio may refer to: * Bellagio, Lombardy, an Italian town * Bellagio (resort), a luxury resort and casino in Las Vegas * Bellagio (Hong Kong), a private housing building * Bellagio declaration, an intellectual copyright resolution * 79271 Bellag ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

), was an American writer, painter, illustrator, set designer and costume designer. Born into a family of Irish descent, son of John JW Reynolds and Carrie Sophia Eldredge, he began his career as a Broadway designer in 1919, for musicals, operettas and magazines, including the 1921-1923 editions of ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

'' and ''

Dearest Enemy ''Dearest Enemy'' is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. This was the first of eight book musicals written by the songwriting team of Rodgers and Hart and writer Herbert Fields, and the f ...

'' (1925). He was also involved in a number of non-musical works, including ''These Charming People'' (1925), ''

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'' (1927) and ''Coming of Age'' (1934). Reynolds left the design business in the 1930s to devote himself to writing and painting full time. Their works are signed with the initials of name and surname and a star (J.R. ☆). He was also a great horse enthusiast and expert. He became a writer late in his life (at the age of fifty) and his topics were broad ranging from horses, ghosts, European travel and

Palladian architecture Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

. Among his many published works include ''Wing Commander Paddy Finucane A Memoir'' (1942); ''A World of Horses'' (1950); ''Ghosts in American Houses'' (1955) and many other titles. He died at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in

, a tourist resort on

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

where he had spent his summer holidays for twenty years, struck by a stroke on 21 July 1957. When James Reynolds died in Bellagio in 1957 there was some confusion about his past: his place of birth has been indicated by several sources in New York, Virginia and Ireland. He was often confused with the illustrator named James Warren Reynolds of 618 N142d St in New York and born on October 22, 1894, in Warrenton Virginia, with James Walter Reynolds (1884-1956), pulp magazine illustrator or even with James Elliott Reynolds (1926-2010), a fine Old West art painter. He was buried in the Municipal Cemetery of Bellagio.

Books by James Reynolds

* ''Paddy Finucane A Memoir'', (1942) * ''A World of Horses'', (1947) * ''Ghosts in Irish Houses'', (1947) * ''Andrea Palladio'', (1948) * ''Gallery of Ghosts'', (1949) * ''Baroque Splendour'', (1950) * ''The Grand Wide Way, A Novel'', (1951) * ''Maeve the Huntress, A Novel'', (1952) * ''James Reynolds’ Ireland'', (1953) * ''Pageant of Italy'', (1954) * ''Fabulous Spain'', (1955) * ''Sovereign Britain'', (1955) * ''Ghosts in American Houses'', (1955) * ''More Ghosts in Irish Houses'', (1956) * ''Panorama of Austria'', (1957)

References

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, James 1891 births 1957 deaths American artists American people of Irish descent Broadway set designers American costume designers American male biographers American mystery writers American male novelists Ghostwriters 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American illustrators Writers who illustrated their own writing Bellagio, Lombardy