Mel Cummin
Encyclopedia
Melville Porter Cummin popularly known as Mel Cummin, was a magazine illustrator and a newspaper staff artist; a notable cartoonist in the early decades of American comic strips; and a Golden Age
comic book artist
and art director
. He was active in the Society of Friends. Cummin was also a well-known naturalist
and explorer.
. On course at a young age for his eventual career, Melville Cummin is listed in Mary Mapes Dodge
's St. Nicholas Magazine
in 1909 as President of a seven-member chapter of the St. Nicholas League called "St. Nick Drawing Club". He attended National Preparatory Academy and the Art Students League of New York
. He held no college degrees. Cummin married at around age 20.
(c. 1912, shortly after the organization's founding), the American Kennel Club
, and West Point. Cummin drew editorial cartoons for The Middletown News-Signal, an Ohio
daily. He worked as an illustrator for the San Francisco Examiner as well as a number of New York newspapers, and also contributed to magazines, including the original Life
.
One of the endeavors that brought Cummin popular notice was his recurring paper doll
s/cut-outs section for McCall's Magazine beginning in the early 1920s. Examples of his subjects include Teeny Town, Martha and George Washington, Dappelton Farm's Wagon House and Hay Barn, Strike Out for the Camp-Fire Trail! (shown), The Madisons and Their Family Carriage and John Adams and Abigail, His Wife. Our American Humorists (1922 ed.) lists Cummin among many others including Winsor McCay
as "Our Comic Artists," and (in a probable reference to this work for McCall's) credits him with "Children's Cartoons."
Later in the decade, Cummin was the first artist for Good Time Guy
, which began in 1927. During the strip's short run at Metropolitan Newspaper Service, Cummin worked with writer Bill Conselman, a notable screenwriter
who was writing under the pen name "Frank Smiley". Cummin was succeeded the following year by Dick Huemer.
Around the same time, Cummin began developing a comic strip called Hap Hazzard (alternatively titled Hap McSnap)., which may not have ever seen publication. Hap Hazzard featured an art deco
-influenced style (the originals surfaced in the 1990s comic art market), with dialog full of puns and complicated wordplay, suggesting it too may have been written by Conselman. Cummin made another foray into comics in 1929 with Traveler in the Land of Trundletree, a daily strip that may have been nationally syndicated, or only local.
. His deep personal interest in nature is further evidenced by his very active "Life Fellow" membership in New York's Explorers Club
, which he joined in 1937. He was elected the Club's Third Vice President in 1954, and he also served as Secretary. Over the years, Cummin joined expeditions to Haiti, Santo Domingo, and the Canadian Arctic (on the latter expedition he carried the Explorers Flag). He collected specimens, took photographs, and painted and drew what he encountered in nature. In 1978 he was awarded the Edward C. Sweeney Medal for service to the Explorers Club.
In the late 1930s, Cummin decided to marry his comic strip experience to his passion for naturalism in creating Back to Nature. This educational syndicated daily newspaper feature spotlighted flora and fauna facts with the subjects rendered in a naturalistic art style. In promoting the feature Cummin wrote, "We pride ourselves on our culture, on our mastery of the principles of modern science; and, like peacocks, we like to display the social graces. Yet, many would trade places gladly with our forefathers who lived so close to nature. Our so-called civilization is merely a thin veneer covering a framework of rough wood that has been thousands of years in the making."
from 1946-49 for Novelty Press, one of the numerous comic book publishers of the Golden Age
of the 1940s (his tenure as art director there is alternately listed as 1943-1948 on the Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999 website). The cover to Target Comics #V7 #1, http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=4945 for example, was produced from Cummin's pencil and ink artwork.
, in Fort Montgomery, New York
. In 1977, he listed his present occupation on a questionnaire as "trying to convince myself that I'm retired," and his avocations as "model-making, dioramas, and designing wooden toys for children."
Cummin died in December of 1980, survived by his wife of 65 years, Marion, and two daughters, Eleanor and Miriam.
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
comic book artist
Comic Book Artist
Comic Book Artist was an American magazine founded by Jon B. Cooke devoted to anecdotal histories of American comic books, with emphasis on comics published since the 1960s...
and art director
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
. He was active in the Society of Friends. Cummin was also a well-known naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and explorer.
Early years
Mel Cummin was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 29, 1895. Of Quaker origin, Cummin attended Friends SeminaryFriends Seminary
Friends Seminary is an elite private day school in Manhattan. It is owned and controlled by the New York Quarterly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. The school, the oldest continuous coeducational school in New York City, serves 694 college-bound day students in Kindergarten through...
. On course at a young age for his eventual career, Melville Cummin is listed in Mary Mapes Dodge
Mary Mapes Dodge
Mary Mapes Dodge was an American children's writer and editor, best known for her novel Hans Brinker.-Biography:...
's St. Nicholas Magazine
St. Nicholas Magazine
St. Nicholas Magazine was a popular children's magazine, founded by Scribner's in 1873. The first editor was Mary Mapes Dodge, who continued her association with the magazine until her death in 1905. Dodge published work by the country's best writers, including Louisa May Alcott, Francis Hodgson...
in 1909 as President of a seven-member chapter of the St. Nicholas League called "St. Nick Drawing Club". He attended National Preparatory Academy and the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
. He held no college degrees. Cummin married at around age 20.
Graphic artist
Cummin worked as a graphic artist for many decades. At various times he was a staff artist for publications of the Boy Scouts of AmericaBoy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
(c. 1912, shortly after the organization's founding), the American Kennel Club
American Kennel Club
The American Kennel Club is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. Beyond maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, an annual event which predates the official...
, and West Point. Cummin drew editorial cartoons for The Middletown News-Signal, an Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
daily. He worked as an illustrator for the San Francisco Examiner as well as a number of New York newspapers, and also contributed to magazines, including the original Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
.
Paper doll
Paper dolls are figures cut out of paper, with separate clothes that are usually held onto the dolls by folding tabs. They have been inexpensive children's toys for almost two hundred years. Today, many artists are turning paper dolls into an art form....
s/cut-outs section for McCall's Magazine beginning in the early 1920s. Examples of his subjects include Teeny Town, Martha and George Washington, Dappelton Farm's Wagon House and Hay Barn, Strike Out for the Camp-Fire Trail! (shown), The Madisons and Their Family Carriage and John Adams and Abigail, His Wife. Our American Humorists (1922 ed.) lists Cummin among many others including Winsor McCay
Winsor McCay
Winsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator.A prolific artist, McCay's pioneering early animated films far outshone the work of his contemporaries, and set a standard followed by Walt Disney and others in later decades...
as "Our Comic Artists," and (in a probable reference to this work for McCall's) credits him with "Children's Cartoons."
Early comic strips
Good Time Guy
Good Time Guy was a humorous syndicated comic strip distributed by Metropolitan Newspaper Service from 1927 to 1929.It was begun by prolific screenwriter Bill Conselman under the pen name of Frank Smiley, and well-established artist Mel Cummin...
, which began in 1927. During the strip's short run at Metropolitan Newspaper Service, Cummin worked with writer Bill Conselman, a notable screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
who was writing under the pen name "Frank Smiley". Cummin was succeeded the following year by Dick Huemer.
Around the same time, Cummin began developing a comic strip called Hap Hazzard (alternatively titled Hap McSnap)., which may not have ever seen publication. Hap Hazzard featured an art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
-influenced style (the originals surfaced in the 1990s comic art market), with dialog full of puns and complicated wordplay, suggesting it too may have been written by Conselman. Cummin made another foray into comics in 1929 with Traveler in the Land of Trundletree, a daily strip that may have been nationally syndicated, or only local.
Back to nature
Cummin was a well-known artist-naturalist, who produced work for museums (including backgrounds and drawings for exhibits) and their publications, and was a benefactor of the American Museum of Natural HistoryAmerican Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
. His deep personal interest in nature is further evidenced by his very active "Life Fellow" membership in New York's Explorers Club
The Explorers Club
The Explorers Club is a professional society dedicated to scientific exploration of Earth, its oceans, and outer space. Founded in 1904 in New York City, it currently has 30 branches world wide...
, which he joined in 1937. He was elected the Club's Third Vice President in 1954, and he also served as Secretary. Over the years, Cummin joined expeditions to Haiti, Santo Domingo, and the Canadian Arctic (on the latter expedition he carried the Explorers Flag). He collected specimens, took photographs, and painted and drew what he encountered in nature. In 1978 he was awarded the Edward C. Sweeney Medal for service to the Explorers Club.
Golden age
Mel Cummin drew covers, interiors, and he also served as art directorArt director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
from 1946-49 for Novelty Press, one of the numerous comic book publishers of the Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
of the 1940s (his tenure as art director there is alternately listed as 1943-1948 on the Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999 website). The cover to Target Comics #V7 #1, http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=4945 for example, was produced from Cummin's pencil and ink artwork.
Later years
Cummin's home studio was set in the beautiful scenery of the Hudson HighlandsHudson Highlands
The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York, between Newburgh Bay and Haverstraw Bay, which form the northern region of the New York - New Jersey Highlands....
, in Fort Montgomery, New York
Fort Montgomery, New York
Fort Montgomery is a hamlet in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 1,418 at the 2000 census...
. In 1977, he listed his present occupation on a questionnaire as "trying to convince myself that I'm retired," and his avocations as "model-making, dioramas, and designing wooden toys for children."
Cummin died in December of 1980, survived by his wife of 65 years, Marion, and two daughters, Eleanor and Miriam.
External links
- http://www.lambiek.net/artists/c/cummin_mel.htm - Lambiek Entry
- http://comicstripfan.com/newspaper/g/goodtimeguy.htm - Comicstripfan.com Entry
- http://www.fleurwerks.com/findingaid.pdf - A summary of the contents of Cummin's membership file at the Explorers Club: Membership materials of Melville Porter Cummin (1895- ). This file contains several photographs, including photos of Cummin photographing in the wilderness (note: these photographs total nine but are within an envelope labeled “10 pictures”). In addition, there are newspaper clippings including an extensive New York Times obituary. Also within this file are: two examples of a daily newspaper supplement (Back To Nature) that Cummin headed up; and historical postcards, designed by the Melville Cummin Studios.