The Definitive Dwiggins no. 227—More Stick Figures

Original drawing (with retouching) by W.A. Dwiggins (c.1924). Image courtesy of Special Collections, Boston Public Library.

In the process of re-organizing my notes and images on the voluminous work that W.A. Dwiggins did for S.D. Warren Co. I found original artwork for more of his stick figure drawings. [1] Unfortunately, there is no identification regarding the project the drawings were made for; and they match none of the Warren publications I have seen. However, based on the captions in some of the drawings (and the loose scraps of calligraphy that accompany them) I believe they were made for the booklet A Primer of the People Who Help or Hinder Sales (Boston: S.D. Warren Co., 1924). [2]

There are actually two types of drawings: stick figures and simple outline figures. The two different styles seem to have been used to represent respectively people who hinder and people who help. Although the full narrative associated with these drawings can’t be known without the text that accompanied them, it is possible to get the gist. There seem to be two parallel stories, one about “printing” buyers and one about paper buyers. In both, the hindering buyers are flanked by “kibitzers”—spectators who offer unsolicited views, commentary, advice, or criticism—while the helpful buyers are surrounded by “associates”. [3]

“The Printing Buyer and His Kibitzers.” Original calligraphy (cropped) by W.A. Dwiggins (c.1924). Image courtesy of Special Collections, Boston Public Library.

The caption above must have accompanied the drawing below. Note the gestures and postures of the kibitzers on either side of the printing buyer. And also that their desks are almost entirely bare.

“Printing Buyer.” Original drawing (with retouching) by W.A. Dwiggins (c.1924). Image courtesy of Special Collections, Boston Public Library.

In contrast, the printing buyer’s associates (artist, “salespromoter,” and writers) are grouped around him and each seems to be hard at work. They all have something on their desks. [4]

Original drawing by W.A. Dwiggins (c.1924). Image courtesy of Special Collections, Boston Public Library.

A similar situation applies to the two types of paper buyers and their office colleagues in the following two drawings. The helpful paper buyer is joined by an estimator, a superintendent, and two salesmen, all of whom are engaged in an activity unlike the chattering kibitzers who work with the hindering paper buyer.

“Paper Buyer and Salesman.” Original drawing (with retouching) by W.A. Dwiggins (c.1924). Image courtesy of Special Collections, Boston Public Library.

“The Paper Buyer and His Associates.” Original drawing by W.A. Dwiggins (c.1924). Image courtesy of Special Collections, Boston Public Library.

I am not sure what the story is behind the salesman approaching the hindering paper buyer. But he also appears in a drawing visiting prospective customers in their homes. [5]

Original drawing by W.A. Dwiggins (c.1924). Image courtesy of Special Collections, Boston Public Library.

The drawing at the top of this post has no known caption. I think it is an attempt to personify the various booklets, brochures, and other promotional material that S.D. Warren supplied its salesmen and the salesmen who worked for its paper distributors. Presumably, the salesman in the two drawings above is carrying one of these Warren publications under his right arm—and may have more in his briefcase. The publications (e.g. “The Work Book [?] for Salesmen” and “Help for Superintendents”) were ultimately aimed at print and paper buyers.

There are four other drawings that survive: “Directors,” two for “Advertising Manager,” and “Newscasters.” [6] The two advertising manager drawings are in stick and outline form, indicating that they were part of the hindering and helpful narratives. The directors drawing is in the stick style. Is an outline companion missing? A final question is how the stick figure newscasters fit into the story told in A Primer of the People Who Help or Hinder Sales. Perhaps they were made for another publication?

“Directors.” Original drawing (with retouching; cropped) by W.A. Dwiggins (c.1924). Image courtesy of Special Collections, Boston Public Library.

“Advertising Manager.” Original drawing (with retouching; cropped) by W.A. Dwiggins (c.1924). Image courtesy of Special Collections, Boston Public Library.

Original drawing by W.A. Dwiggins (c.1924). Image courtesy of Special Collections, Boston Public Library.

“Newscasters.” Original drawing by W.A. Dwiggins (c.1924). Image courtesy of Special Collections, Boston Public Library.

Notes
1. The artwork is split between Folders 7–12, Box 73 and Box 73pb, W.A. Dwiggins Collection, Boston Public Library. It is simply labeled S.D. Warren. Dwiggins’ stick figure drawings can be seen in Let’s be Misers with Golden Selling Hours and other Warren publications discussed in The Definitive Dwiggins no. 222. For the stick figures Dwiggins apparently used a Speedball B-Series nib, first manufactured in 1916. The nib creates evenly thick lines in any direction.
2. If anyone has copies of A Primer of the People Who Help or Hinder Sales (Boston: S.D. Warren Co., 1924) or other S.D. Warren publications (brochures, booklets, magazines, etc.) from the period 1914 to 1940 I would appreciate seeing images of them.
3. Among the loose scraps of calligraphy are “The Printing Buyer and His Kibitzers” and “The Paper Buyer and His Associates.” Missing are equivalent captions for “The Printing Buyer and His Associates” and “The Paper Buyer and His Kibitzers.” Kibitzer is a Yiddish word. It is surprising to find it in a publication from a New England paper company, especially given how rare it seems to have been outside of the Jewish community in New York in the 1920s. Perhaps the Warren copywriter picked up the term from the game of auction bridge which was then in vogue. See The 1924 Rules and Laws of Auction Bridge by Wynne Ferguson [New York: Bristol Press, Inc., 1924], p. 80 which includes kibitzer in its glossary!
4. Note that there is an artist not a graphic designer among the helpful print buyer’s associates.
5. Even though they are stick figures, the couples in the second image of the pair are heavily gendered. The husbands read newspapers while their wives prepare to go out. Furthermore, all of the figures, both stick and outline, seem to be male.
6. The calligraphic caption has been separated from the drawing of the second advertising manager in the Dwiggins Collection files.