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FRANCIS [FRANK] GODWIN Born: 10/20/1889, Washington, DC Died: 08/05/1959 [heart attack] (c) Arthur L. Lortie, 2016 See also:

CONNIE - DAILY STRIPS CONNIE - SUNDAY STRIPS CONNIE - REPRINTS OTHER STRIPS Self-charicature Official King Features 1949 biography

Family Tree

Father: Harry Post Godwin //Harry P. Godwin, was city editor of the Washington Star, and a young Frank Godwin started his art apprenticeship on that paper around 1905.// //He later went to study at the Art Students’ League in New York, where he became friends with James Montgomery Flagg, with whom he shared a studio at one time. Thanks to Flagg’s friendship, Godwin started contributing to the major humor magazines of the day [his earliest recorded work, a two-line cartoon, appeared in Judge in 1908].// Mother: Annie [Stoppard] Godwin Brother: Harold Godwin [writer, Rusty Riley Sunday strip] Brother: Earl Godwin Brother: Stuart Godwin

Married?: Sylvia Goodwin //Sylvia Godwin was a writer and at least one article published in a 1920’s issue of Liberty was illustrated by Frank.//

Married: Georgiana Brown Harbeson [05/13/1894 – 07/1980, Philadelphia, PA] //Georgiana Brown Harbeson Godwin was an artist with work exhibited at St. Philip's Church, 10 Chapel Road, New Hope, PA 18938 [see http://www.stphilipsnewhope.org/History.html]. She also has at least one book: American Needlework: The History of Decorative Stitchery and Embroidery from the Late 16th to the 20th Century [Bonanza Books, 1938]// Son: Francis Wood Godwin Jr. Daughter: Grace Latta Godwin Way, an artist Daughter: Nancy Congleton Godwin Son: Harry Post Godwin

Married: Grace Congleton

Married: ??

Son?: LeRoy Godwin [a commercial artist]

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Francis [Frank] Godwin’s father, Harry R. Godwin, was city editor of the Washington Star, and the young Godwin started his art apprenticeship on that paper around 1905. He later went to study at the Art Students’ League in New York, where he became friends with James Montgomery Flagg, with whom he shared a studio at one time. Thanks to Flagg’s friendship, Godwin started contributing to the major humor magazines of the day [his earliest recorded work, a two-line cartoon, appeared in Judge in 1908].

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============== CHRONOLOGY 19??: Member: National Cartoonists Society

19??: Member: Society of Illustrators

19??: School: Corcoran School of Art; Studied and shared a studio with James Montgomery Flagg, whom he met while working for Judge Magazine

19??: Muralist: King's County Hospital, Brooklyn, NY

19??: World War I Poster

19??: Three Shuttered Houses by Ben Ames Williams in Redbook Magazine; republished in paperback [Redbook Novel Of The Month]

19??: Nowhere And Return by Ursula Parrott in Redbook Magazine; republished in paperback [Redbook Novel Of The Month]

19??: Captain Nicholas by Hugh Walpole in Redbook Magazine; republished in paperback [Redbook Novel Of The Month]

19??: The Chinese Orange Murder by Ellery Queen in Redbook Magazine; republished in paperback [Redbook Novel Of The Month]

1892: Moved with his family from Washington, DC, to Hackensack, NJ, where his father became employed as advertising manager for the Columbia Phonograph Company

1905-19??: Art apprentice: Washington Star, after quitting high school

1908: Humor panels in various magazines

1910: Mother Goose Nursery Tales - A Collection of Old Favorites [Hardcover illustrations] [David McKay] – cover only?

1914: Letters Of A Self-Made Failure by Maurice Switzer [Hardcover illustrations] [Leslie-Judge and Small, Maynard & Company]

1915: Judge [magazine illustrations] See [] See []

1915: Five Fridays by Frank R. Adams [Hardcover illustrations] [Small, Maynard & Company]

1915: Why, Theodora! By Sarah Warder MacConnell [Hardcover illustrations] [Small, Maynard & Co.]

1915: Molly and I: Or the Silver Ring by Frank R. Adams [Hardcover illustrations] [Small, Maynard & Co.]

06-11/1919: artwork in the weekly "Color Supplement" of the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Ruth Plumly Thompson supplied text [a brief re-telling of Aladdin, for instance]. See [] See [] See []

11/1919: Ladies’ Home Journal [Magazine illustrations]

1920: Stories The Balloonman Told by Frank Godwin and Charles J Coll [English Books] 34 pages Reprints Godwin and Coll illustrations from the "Color Supplement" of the Philadelphia Public Ledger

1920’s-1940’s: Advertising [Commercial art]

1921: ad for Holeproof Hisiery

1921: Blue Fairy Book [with interior illustration] by Andrew Lang, 1844-1912 [Hardcover illustrations] [David McKay]

1921: When Crossroads Cross Again by Rupert Hughes [Hardcover illustrations] [P. F. Collier & Son]

07/02/1921: Collier’s [Magazine illustrations] [art for ‘Women Are Like That’ by Bernice Brown]

1922-1929: Collier’s [Magazine illustrations]

07/01/1922: Collier’s [Magazine illustrations] [art for Uncle Henry]

1923: Black Arrow, The by Robert Louis Stevenson [Hardcover illustrations] [David McKay]

1923: Robin Hood by Henry Gilbert, 1868- [Hardcover illustrations] [David McKay] [reprinted in 1932 by Garden City; Children’s Classics in 1988; and Longmeadow Press in 1991] See [] See []

1923: Swiss Family Robinson [Hardcover illustrations] [John C. Winston] [reprinted by Winston in 1929]

04/14/1923: Collier’s [Magazine illustrations] [art for ‘The Pay-Off’ by Octavus Roy Cohen]

1924: Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb [Hardcover illustrations] [John C. Winston] [reprinted in 1925 by Winston and Encyclopedia Americana] See [] See []

1924: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson [Hardcover illustrations] [John C. Winston] [reprinted in 1928 by Winston; 1925 by J. G. Ferguson and Encyclopedia Americana; and Reader’s Digest in 1987] See [] See []

1924: The Howitzer [the West Point yearbook] carried several Godwin illustrations on the division pages [Classes, Athletics, Activities, etc.], including Choirboys

09/1924: Hearst’s International [Magazine illustrations]

1924: The Arabian Nights by Orton Lowe, editor; color plates by Adelaide H. Bolton [John C. Winston] Although Bolton is credited, some of Godwin's illustrations from the "Color Supplement" of the Philadelphia Public Ledger were used, especially the cover

1925: Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson [Hardcover illustrations] [John C. Winston] [reprinted in 1928 by Winston; 1925 by J. G. Ferguson and Encyclopedia Americana; and Reader’s Digest in 1986 and 1991]

1925: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe [Hardcover illustrations] [John C. Winston] [reprinted in 1925 by Encyclopedia Americana]

1925: Liberty Magazine [Magazine illustrations]

1925: Uncle Sam Needs A Wife by Ida Clyde Clarke [Hardcover illustrations] [John C. Winston] – frontspiece; book of feminist essays

1927: King Arthur by Elizabeth Lodor Merchant [Hardcover illustrations] [John C. Winston] – 12 drawings

06/09/1927: The Youth’s Companion [Magazine illustrations] Twenty Fathoms Down by Fitzhugh Green illustrated by Godwin

19?? – 10/23/1927: Vignettes of Life [panel strip] The date above marks the end of Godwin’s involvement per Maurice Horn, but Holtz notes 10/23/1927. The strip continued under J. Norman Lynd [12 years], Kemp Starrett [13 years], and Harry Weinert [7 years]

11/13/1927 – 1944?: Connie [comic strip for Ledger Syndicate]

1928: The Road to Liberty and How Zach Peters Found It: An American Adventure in Ten Dreams by Hermann Hagedorn [Hardcover illustrations] [John C. Winston] [reprinted in 1931 by Winston]

1928: Road to Bigger Things; Describing How Success May Be Won Through Illustrating and Cartooning As Taught by the Master Course by C. L. Bartholomew, editor [Federal Schools, Inc.] -- 63pp. Promotional booklet for the mail-order course containing work and testimonials by Frank Godwin and others.

1929: Women's Home Companion [Magazine illustrations]

1929: Book Of Courage by Hermann Hagedorn [Hardcover illustrations] [John C. Winston] [reprinted by Winston in 1930 and 1942; Universal Book and Bible House in 1933; and Smithsonian Company in 1933]

05/13/1929? – 1944?: Connie [comic strip for Ledger Syndicate]

03/29/1930: Collier’s [Magazine illustrations] Story by Lucian Cary illustrated by Godwin

07/26/1930: Collier’s [Magazine illustrations]

08/09/1930: Collier’s [Magazine illustrations]

09/19/1931: Collier’s [Magazine illustrations]

1933: Dutch Treat Party 1933 – Contributions by cartoonists, artists, and writers campaigning for the Dutch Treat Club Party. Artists besides Godwin include : Dean Cornwell, James Montgomery Flagg, Gordon Grant, W.T. Benda, Russell Patterson, Percy Crosby, Rube Goldberg, John LaGatta, Sheridan, Donald Teague, George McManus Otto Soglow and others

1934: Liberty Magazine [Magazine illustrations]

01/1935: RedBook [Magazine illustrations]

01/19/1935: Liberty Magazine [Magazine illustrations]

04/06/1935: Liberty Magazine [Magazine illustrations]

04/06/1935: Liberty Magazine [Magazine illustrations]

08/03/1935: Liberty Magazine [Magazine illustrations]

11/1936: Redbook [Magazine illustrations] [Cats Crusie]

1936: True Life Stories of Major Bowes’ Amateurs [comic advertisement for Standard Brands]

1938: Roy Powers, Eagle Scout [comic strip for Ledger Syndicate] [one story only]

1941: United Service Organizations, The [Commercial art]

1941-1942: Texaco ads [Life Among The Leathernecks, etc.] for Life Magazine – see below [Commercial art]

10/1941: Newsweek [Magazine illustrations]

11/03/1941: Life Magazine - Texaco ad [Life At Pensacola] [Commercial art]

12/08/1941: Life Magazine - Texaco ad [Life On A U. S. Warship] [Commercial art]

1942: Godwin served as an Air Force flight observer and designed an aerial camera

11/1942: Outdoor Life [Magazine illustrations]

1943: Living in Trinidad in Cuba

1943: Coca-Cola [Commercial art]

Spring/1943: Wonder Woman [Harry G. Peters Studio / DC Comics]: ‘Wanted by Hitler, Dead or Alive’ in Comics Cavalcade #2 [Spring/1943]

05/1943: Wonder Woman [Harry G. Peters Studio / DC Comics]: ‘The Talking Lion’ in Sensation Comics #17 [13 pages] [reprinted in Four-Star Spectacular #1 [03-04/1976] and Wonder Woman Archives Volume 3 [2002]] Note: Credited to Harry Peters in GCD’s entry for Sensation Comics

07/1943: Wonder Woman [Harry G. Peter Studio / DC Comics]: ‘The Unbound Amazon’ in Sensation Comics #19 [13 pages] [reprinted in Four-Star Spectacular #4 [09-10/1976] and Wonder Woman Archives Volume 3 [2002]] Note: Credited to Harry Peters in GCD’s entry for Sensation Comics

1944?: Moved to New Hope, PA, among a Bucks County colony of artists and writers

1944: Liberty Magazine [Magazine illustrations]

1944: Armstrong Cork [Commercial art]

1944: Coca-Cola [Commercial art] [a dozen or so ads for D'Arcy Advertising Agency: It’s a big event … have a Coke]

04/14/1945: Liberty Magazine [Magazine illustrations]

1945: An illustrated comic strip of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead in Hearst newspapers [including the Los Angeles Herald-Express], beginning 12/24/1945, 30 installments syndicated by by King Features to 55 major newspapers in cities such as New York, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, and San Francisco. This was part of the Book-Of-The Month Club comic strip series, which previously featured art by James Montgomery Flagg, Hal Foster, William Meade Prince, and others. Ms. Rand, who also wrote most of the adaptation, was sent samples of several artists’ works and she originally wanted Harold Foster, who was unavailable. [See []]

1945?: Bucks County Traveler carried an article on Godwin and his train collection

1945-1948: Lev Gleason Comics

01/26/1948- 11/01/1959: Rusty Riley Sundays [comic strip for King Features Syndicate] See a 1949 pinup from Writers and Artists of King Features Note: Harold Goodwin wrote the Sundays [Bob Lubbers in Glamour International #26] Note: From Bob Lubbers [through Joakim Gunnarsson]: "Sylvan Byck, KFS comics editor, asked if I would finish out the story Frank Godwin was working on when he died. I did the last two Sunday pages." Note: Creig Flessel has also suggested he ghosted a strip [in a Comics Book Marketplace interview] Individual strips: 10/25/1959 [by Lubbers]

06/27/1948- 09/19/1959: Rusty Riley dailies [comic strip for King Features Syndicate] Note: Rod Reed wrote the dailies [Per Bob Lubbers in Glamour International #26]

1951: Rusty Riley Christmas Card for King Features Syndicate

08/1952: Four Color [Dell] #418: Rusty Riley, A Boy, A Horse and a Dog [covers by Sam Savitt] [comic book] Undated daily strip reprints, 4 tiers / 8 panels per page, one complete story on 35 pages

02/1953: Four Color [Dell] #451: Rusty Riley, A Boy, A Horse and a Dog [covers by Sam Savitt] [comic book] 1948 daily strip reprints, 3 tiers / 6 panels per page, one complete story on 35 pages

1953: Four Color [Dell] #486: Rusty Riley, A Boy, A Horse and a Dog [covers by Sam Savitt] [comic book] 1948 daily strip reprints, 4 tiers / 8 panels per page, one complete story on 35 pages

04/1954: Four Color [Dell] #554: Rusty Riley, A Boy, A Horse and a Dog [covers by Sam Savitt] [comic book] 1949 daily strip reprints, 3 tiers / 6 panels per page, one complete story on 35 pages Plot: Swindler tries to buy a rancher’s canyon property knowing a movie studio wants it for location shooting

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============== SOURCES Note: I only list foreign ARTICLES on Godwin and his career in this section, not his strip reprints. Foreign Connie reprints are listed in the top document, however.

Adventurous Decade, The, by Ron Goulart [New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1975] – page 90, 160, 203, 204

Art of the Funnies, The, by R.C. Harvey [Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1994] – page 124

Comic Book Marketplace v. 2 #62 [08/1998]: "Rusty Riley" by Carl Horak. page 17 in Marketplace Mail -- Letter on similarity of the work of Frank Godwin and Reed Crandall

Comics, vom Massenblatt ins multimediale Abenteuer, by Andreas C. Knigge [Reinbeck bei Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1996] – page 50, 57, 58

Dictionnaire Mondial de la Bande Dessinée, by Patrick Gaumer, Claude Moliterni [Paris: Larousse, 1997] – page 287-288

Encyclopedia of American Comics, The, edited by Ron Goulart [New York, NY: Facts on File, 1990] – page 82, 151, 314, 347, 362, 378

Encyclopédie des bandes dessinées, edited by Marjorie Alessandrini. Nouv. ed. [Paris: A Michel, 1986] – page 118, 229, 239

Funnies, The, 100 Years of American Comic Strips, by Ron Goulart [Holbrook, MA: Adams Publishing, 1995] – page 113, 117, 180-181

Gallery of Rogues, A [Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library, 1998]: Self-caricature, with biographical text by R.C. Harvey, on page 34

Great Women Superheroes, The, by Trina Robbins [Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press, 1996] – page 8

Historia de los Comics, by J. Toutain, J. Coma [Barcelona: Toutain, 1982-1984?] – page 55, 144, 173, 280, 596, 647

History of the Comic Strip, A, by Pierre Couperie, et al. [New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 1968] – page 45, 61, 65, 71, 113, 115, 160, 205, 207, 209, 215, 219

How to Illustrate for Money by Sid Hydeman, Art Editor, Redbook Magazine; foreword by Edwin Balmer [New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1936] [contains short personal anecdotes about Godwin]

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals, The, by Jeff Rovin [New York, NY: Prentice Hall, 1991] – page 96

Over 50 Years of American Comic Books, by Ron Goulart [Lincolnwood, IL: Mallard Press, 1991] – page 22

Ron Goulart's Great History of Comic Books, by Ron Goulart [Chicago, IL: Contemporary Books, 1986] – page 11

Roses and Buckshot: An Autobiography by James Montgomery Flagg [New York, NY: G. P. Putnam, 1946] [contains short personal anecdotes about Godwin]

Strip Scene v2 #6 [1978]

Who's Who of American Comic Books, The, by Jerry Bails & Hames Ware [Detroit, MI.: J. Bails, 1973-1976] – page 78, 315

Women in the Comics, by Maurice Horn. [New York, NY: Chelsea House, 1977] – page 46, 48, 57, 90, 103, 180

World Encyclopedia of Cartoons, The, edited by Maurice Horn [Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1980] – page 566

World Encyclopedia of Comics, The, edited by Maurice Horn [Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House, 1999] – page 347-348

World Encyclopedia of Comics, The, edited by Maurice Horn [New York, NY: Chelsea House, 1976] – page 178, 283-284, 594, ill. 50, 178, 366, 399, 594

Writers and Artists of King Features by Mel Heimer [King Features, 1949]