It was shortly after receiving the March issue of Chicago Magazine in his mail that David Lloyd made a startling discovery. A photo of his wife's grandmother, Beulah Clark Dunn, was prominently displayed on page 96. Alerted by her husband, and a bit skeptical, Rose Lloyd opened the magazine and immediately recognized the photo, by Beatrice Tonnesen, as identical to one she had stored safely among her family memorabilia.

I am deeply grateful to Rose for what she did next! With lightning speed, she rounded up nearly forty photos of her beautiful grandmother, scanned them and emailed them to me. She also provided biographical information, documents and news clippings that allow us a fascinating glimpse into the world of calendar and advertising art in the 1920's. (See accompanying slideshow.)

Continue reading →

The March 2010 Chicago Magazine article on BT is now posted online here.

Editor’s Note: There are new developments in the story of the “Glory of Youth” photo .  A reader who has an original of that photo has identified the model as her grandmother, Beulah Clark Dunn.  Interestingly, like Vera Hedderman whose story is told below, she was born in 1903 and won newspaper acclaim for her beauty.  The two models bore a resemblance to one another, and both posed for print art in the early ’20s. But it now appears that it was Beulah Clark Dunn who actually sat for the “Glory of Youth” photo.  Her story appears, above, in the post titled “Chicago Area Family…”  We thank the families of both models for generously sharing their stories and helping to enrich our understanding of the “Golden Age of Illustration.” – Lois, 4/22/10

No sooner had the March issue of Chicago Magazine, with its feature on Beatrice Tonnesen titled “Camera Obscura”, hit the newsstands than I received an email from Senior Editor Geoffrey Johnson, the article's author. It seems a local resident, Bridget Roth, had spotted a woman she believed to be her grandmother among the many Tonnesen photos and prints that were featured! Naturally, I contacted Bridget immediately.

Continue reading →