J C LYENDECKER-EIGHT VINTAGE COVERS-SATURDAY EVENING POST-1930S BLACK AMERICANA

Description

THIS LISTING IS FOR A COMPLETE ARCHIVE OF EIGHT ORIGINAL AND RARE J C LEYENDECKER BLACK AMERICANA THEMED 1930S SATURDAY EVENING POST COVERS ONLY.
J C Leyendecker was, along with Norman Rockwell, the most popular magazine cover illustrator of the 1930s.  The Saturday Evening Post was the most popular general interest magazine from the early 1900s through the 1950s.  Leyendecker produced over 320 covers for The Saturday Evening Post, the most of any illustrator, over a 40 year period.  The Saturday Evening Post published over 3600 covers over 70 years, from 1899 to 1969.  Of the 3600 plus different covers published over 70 years, only 16 covers depicted Black Americans, of which half of those rare images are in this listing.
In the segregated US society of this period, with magazine publishers having to be very careful of their cover images, for fear of offending their readers, particularly in the South,  portrayals of Black Americans on a major magazine cover was thus extremely rare.  Given the racial atmosphere and magazine image constraints of the period, it is interesting to see that given Leyendecker's reputation, he was able to get his Black cover images approved for publication.  The Saturday Evening Post published one cover with a Black American from 1910 to 1919, and that cover was of a distinguished looking butler by Leyendecker.  The Post published one cover with a Black American in the 1920s and that cover was of a Drum major.  Of the nine covers with Black Americans published in the Post in the 1930s, eight of those nine covers were created by Leyendecker and are in this listing.  There were only three Black cover images in the Post the 1940s and none in the 1950s.
The Post wanted humorous cover images to entice primarily white buyers of their magazines, so while there is a humorous theme to Leyendecker's Black cover images, reflecting the limited Black roles of the period, Leyendecker mostly treats his Black cover subjects with a dignity seemingly unusual for the period.  The covers are an interesting time capsule.   The dimensions of these covers are 10.5" x 13.5"  These eight covers will be a nice addition for a Leyendecker or Black Americana collection and also would look wonderful framed.
The covers are each protected in an archival print sleeve.  The covers will be protected by stiff shipping materials and will be sent in a water resistant shipping envelope using USPS First Class Mail.
I will consolidate shipping charges for multiple orders.  If you win multiple bids, do not pay immediately.  I will send you an invoice for your multiple purchases that will have combined shipping.  Thank you.