Twenty-three-year-old editor Herbert Stuart Stone understood the power of advertising. In 1894, he commissioned artist Will Bradley (1868-1962) to create seven posters to advertise his new literary magazine The Chap Book. The first poster, often referred to as The Twins, is seen above. Originally based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Stone and Kimball relocated their publishing house and the magazine to Chicago, Illinois after six months. Thanks in big part to Bradley’s eye-catching designs, Stone’s semi-monthly magazine lasted until 1898, when it merged with The Dial.
There are two variation in The Twins; one on white paper and one on yellow. Each are signed in the bottom left, WILL H | BRADLEY ‘94. The press complained that if you squinted, Bradley’s design looked like an oddly-shaped red turkey.
Will H. Bradley, Poster for The Chap-Book, May 1894. Lithograph. Graphic arts poster collection.
