Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-01
GOTHAM TALES.
Men Who Illustrate the News
papers Bright Lot.
SOME MAKE $4,000 A YEAR.
Mrs. Russell Sage and Her Charities-Dixie
Wants New Play-An Opportunity.
One Editor Who is Not Jealous-Senator
Carlisle's Devoted Wife--Maggie
Mitchell Renewing Her
Youth--Inside Gossip.
Special correspoudeuce OF the Gazette.

Special Correspondence Of the Gazette.
New YORK, Oct. "a. Tom Mast, the
veteran cartoonist, was seen on Broadway
the other afternoon, pushed and jostled BY
the crowd and not known by sight perhaps
to more than dozen persons in his two
mile walk. He seldom comes to the city
these days, preferring the quiet of his
semi-rural home in Morristown, n. j. Time
has whitened his hair and wrinkled his
face, AMI his fingers are not so nimble as
they were when he made his great success,
quarter of a century ago. He draws as
well to-day as he ever did-although there
be artists who say he is clumsy workman
and his mind is wonderfully active. lie
has not grown old, but rather deliciouSly
mellowed with age, as an apple ripenS in
the sunshine. His work is not in much de-
mand now, although he derives steady in
come from his pencil. But the younger
fellows, with newer ideas and DETER touch,
have crowded him out. When Mast began
work, newspaper illustrations were in their
crudest form, and there were not dozen
first-class newspaper artists in the city.
To-day newspaper illustrations have
reached degree of excellence little dreamed
of, and quite two hundred good men find re-
munerative work every day of the week,
and nearly as many more poorer workmen
manage to obtain slender subsistence from
their labor.
It was thought once that newspaper
illustration was fad of day and would
pass away, but such is not the case. The
judgment of the best men in the business is
that the work-eXcellent as it isis still in
its infancy. Illustrating daily newspaper
costs a snug sum OF money. There are pa
pers in New York that spend $4,000 year
in illustrations, and great many men and
women, too, are required for this work. Like
all other branches of newspaper work,
artists have divided themselves into
specialists. There are cartoonists who
cannot draw good Portraits men who can
draw horses, but who could not make
caricature to save their lives artists who
give up their time to making humorous
illustrations, and free-hand artists who can
do little of all kinds of work well. These
men earn from $1,000 to $4,000 year, ac-
cording to their industry and ability.
Perhaps the best paid illustrator in Amer
lea is E. A. Abbey, who will make quite
$4,000 out of his illustrations of Shakes
peare. Smedley, Gibson, Parsons, Frost,
Blum, Reinhardt, Goodman, Gaul, Kemble,
and dozens of others are as well known as
Abbey, if they do not make as much money.
They are all strong, original, bold workers.
Valerian Gribayedoff is one of the few all
around art workers on the daily press. He
is best known as portrait artist, although
he can do any kind of newspaper illus
trating with grace and facility. Joseph
Keppler is doing some of his best work
now c. ]. Hamilton, Dan Beard, Bernard
Gillian, De Grimm, Cusacks, Zimmerman,
Opper, McDougal, Gray-Parker, Coultanse,
Trowbridge, Jones, Barrett and a dozen
others are names that will be quickly recog-
nized by newspaper readers. Each has his
own peculiar style of work, out they are all
fertile in ideas, original in execution, and
artists in every sense. There are scores of
men, not known at present, who are doing
good work and will be heard from in the
future.
Many good men find profit in supplying
s'ideas' for the d-ily and weekly papers
that is, crude drawings Of striking original
ity. Others supply illustrations at SO much
for the job in hand. From 81 to SIS is paid
for drawing portrait; from S. to SIS for
a cartoon or illustration to fill an entire
page; and from s. to $40 for single and
double column illustrations of ordinary
events. Men like Gribayedoff and DeGrimm
can make from SO to $50 day, according
to their industry. All the men mentioned
are of the first class, and have offered them
daily more work than they can do.