This blog is about my most recent “Hey, look at this!” item. It is a scrapbook put together by Falter in 1925-1926 when he was a fifteen/sixteen year old high school student in Falls City. His talent, while still relatively undeveloped, was obvious and you can see that he may have been seriously considering a career as a cartoonist (he certainly had a sense of humor). In fact, a few of the scrapbook entries were drawings for a cartoon that he drew occassionally for the Falls City Journal in 1926 called Down Thru The Ages.
I hope you enjoy this little peek into the artistic life of a Nebraska teen!
The scrapbook page on the right is "interactive." See the image below to find out what happens when the door is lifted.
–Deb Arenz, Senior Museum Curator
I love these drawings. Please show more. Some to them — such as page 10 and page 105 — would make nice greeting cards for the Society to sell.
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Hi, I am researching artists who contributed work to federal propaganda agencies during World War II and stumbled across your very interesting post. In the spring of 1942 Falter created a somewhat intimidating poster for the Office of Facts and Figures (OFF). My question is: Do Falter’s papers include any correspondence between the artist and the OFF administration? I’m hoping to understand how the content of war propaganda was developed, and any letters, sketches, or memos may prove very helpful for my research. Many thanks!
Austin–I have looked through most of the papers in our collection and found little regarding his work for the government during WWII. I wish we had more!
Deb Arenz
Hi Deb,
Thanks for checking. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you happen to come across anything new. I have family in northeast Kansas, so I’m in your area often and would be happy to make a trip up to see the files sometime.
Many thanks!
Austin
I certainly will. Would love to see the results of your research sometime.
Deb
In the 1970s John Falter did a painting from a picture of my father, bass saxophonist, Joe Rushton. See…
http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/treasures/john_falter.htm
I have that painting and would like to know if there is any other info about the proposed study for an album cover based on my father. My father died in 1964 and I’m trying to find any obscure memorabilia for my family. Thanks so much.
Josh–I’ll see what I can find and be in touch via email.
Deb
My Father bought a painting at an auction 20 years ago at the GOLDEN NUGGETT in LAS Vegas it,s a western bar scene, it,s signed by John Falter (c) 1975 are you familar with this piece 18 by 24 original frame thanks for any imput