Staff Pick of the Week - The Gibson Book
For my staff pick this week I’ve chosen The Gibson Book: A Collection of the Published Works of Charles Dana Gibson, vol. 2, which features drawings by Charles Dana Gibson of his famous Gibson Girls (and others) with often humorous captions. Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1907 in a two-volume set, the books featured full sets of drawings from ten books by Gibson. Our volume contains “A Widow and Her Friends,” “The Social Ladder,” “Eighty Drawings Including the Weaker Sex: The Story of a Susceptible Bachelor,” “Everyday People,” and “Our Neighbors.”
In this post I’ve chosen to share drawings that I find either particularly humorous or relatable. In a subsequent post you’ll see some that lean more toward the bizarre so keep an eye out for that next week! One of my favorites is the first image shown here, in which “She decides to die in spite of Dr. Bottles.” Another is the second one, in which “She finds that exercise does not improve her spirits,” and the sixth one, which is titled “The Family Below” and is “Dedicated to those who live in flats” (I have noisy upstairs neighbors, so I definitely relate). I also love the final image here, with women carrying signs that say things like “IMPORTANT: I AM GOING TO EUROPE THIS SUMMER” and “WE DINE AGAIN TONIGHT.” All of these drawings are truly wonderful in my eyes, and I love the classic Gibson Girl bouffant hairdos in the ones of the ladies (if only I could get my hair to lie just so!).
I also think these would make great coloring pages, so keep an eye out for some of those during Color Our Collections week coming up next week!
View more Staff Picks here.
- Alice, Special Collections Department Manager