"Hit and Run, Liberty Magazine Cover"   Lot no. 291

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published February 7, 1931

As Jerry the iceman drives his big truck up the hill, splashing through the slushy puddles, bystanders continue to shout, “Got a hitch! Got a hitch!” Jerry pays no attention and remains unaware that the neighborhood children, Gwendolyn Smithers and Red Hancock, had hitched a ride on the tailboard of the ice truck. As their hands begin to slip and the children feel they can hold on no longer, they beg Jerry to stop the truck, but he doesn’t hear them. Finally, Red can hold on no longer and he falls to the asphalt. A red car strikes him and keeps driving, leaving Red limp in the street. (Don’t worry, we find out in the next installment that Red is okay!) (Liberty magazine, February 21, 1931, p. 67)

“For the Love o’ Lil: The Picture Story of an American Family”

In 1926, under his long-term contract to produce a cover per week for Liberty magazine, Leslie Thrasher introduced a signature cast of characters that appeared each week, telling a serialized story through his illustrations. Liberty touted its new cover serial as “something no magazine has ever done before…Heretofore, all magazine covers have been disconnected pictures.” To help readers follow the plot from week to week, a short story summary was printed in each issue. (Liberty magazine, June 19, 1926, pp. 69-70). 

“For the Love o’ Lil” centers around the lives of Lil Morse and Sandy Jenkins and includes recurring characters from their extended family and social circles. The serial follows the couples’ adventures through courtship, the ups and downs of married life, the antics of their offspring with the neighborhood children, and the complex dynamics of relationships with in-laws. The goal was to show a typical modern American family whose eccentricities and foibles would attract readers each week. Thrasher used himself as the model for Lil’s father, Robert E. Lee Morse. 

Liberty further engaged readers by running contests for best titles, and later, for suggested storylines. The model proved successful and “For the Love o’ Lil” became a popular hallmark of the publication for many years, resulting in a 1930 film adaptation starring the flapper Sally Starr.

Leslie Thrasher

Leslie Thrasher first began contributing covers to Liberty in 1924, and in 1926 he was offered a contract to create a cover per week at the rate of $1,000 per week. Going against the advice of his friend Norman Rockwell, Thrasher accepted the contract, agreeing to complete a weekly cover for six years - an immensely challenging endeavor requiring that both new ideas and new artwork be produced at an extremely rapid pace. The continuing storyline of the cover serial “For the Love o’ Lil” helped Thrasher keep up with the constant demand for new images.

Due to declining circulation, Liberty terminated Thrasher’s contract in 1932. A few years later in 1936, Thrasher died from pneumonia caused by smoke inhalation from a fire in his home, which also destroyed much of his original artwork. An incredibly prolific artist, Thrasher had created more than 360 covers in his lifetime for various publications, including 23 covers for The Saturday Evening Post.

Leslie Thrasher was born in Piedmont, West Virginia. He studied art at the Philadelphia Academy and at the age of 16, won a scholarship that allowed him to study in Paris. Upon his return to the United States, Thrasher studied with Howard Pyle in Wilmington, Delaware and briefly worked as a portrait painter before moving to New York City to begin his commercial career producing illustration for magazines and advertising agencies. Thrasher also served in World War I, where he was assigned work as a camouflage painter.

Magazine accopanies this painting

            Charles Leslie Thrasher was made famous by signing on for a long-term contract to paint every single weeks cover for Liberty Magazine. It was a back-breaking commitment to work at such a pace and an even greater challenge to come up with enough original cover ideas. The latter problem was partially solved by settling on a continuing story line, which followed a couple's courtship, marriage and children. It was a popular series, later made into a movie called "For the Love of Lil." His marriage provided the ingredients for it, and he served as his own model for the hero. As the presentation was humorous and light, the artwork tended to be lightweight, below the standards of his earlier cover work for The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, and his advertising illustrations Cream of Wheat, Fisk Tires and Spaulding.

            Thrasher's career had an auspicious beginning. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and won a years scholarship to attend the Ecole de Grande Chaumiere in Paris. After his return in 1910, he studied briefly with Howard Pyle, and developed a close friendship with fellow-student Douglas Duer. They both served oversees during World War I, where they were assigned to camouflage with the Fortieth Engineers.

            He resumed his illustration career after returning to the U.S, working for various magazines such as Redbook, Collier's, Popular Magazine, and Everybody's, prior to the Liberty contract.

            Thrasher's career came to an early tragic end when his summer home burned and he developed pneumonia from smoke inhalation.