TONY SARG Genius at Play

Tony Sarg (1880-1942) first achieved professional success as an illustrator in London and New York. His 1920s puppets directly inspired Jim Henson; he was also a pioneer in animated films and children’s books, and, as a longtime designer for Macy’s, he created the gigantic balloons used in the firm’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which began in 1924. He also employed one of his parade balloons in the famous Nantucket Sea Serpent hoax of 1937. This abundantly illustrated volume, published to coincide with a major exhibition organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum, is the first to survey Tony Sarg’s protean career. It brings together imagery and artifacts from numerous public and private collections, and includes special sections on Sarg’s long association with the island of Nantucket. I've always collected and enjoyed Sarg's children's books from the 1920 and 1930s; some remain in print today. But this exhibit, which I just attended in Massachusetts, opened my eyes to his wide-ranging accomplishments. I love his many books, from his hand-lettered ABC to a complete calendar of humorous scenes of urban London. These remind me of W. Heath Robinson. His love for boats and the sea comes out in his many works, and his birds' eye-views of Nantucket Island and other popular New England spots are a delight, capturing each place in time. -Bud In the 1920s, he gained even greater renown for his touring puppet shows based on classic tales like Alice in Wonderland and Robinson Crusoe. Fusing the time-honored craft of traditional marionette shows with a playful modern sensibility, Sarg’s productions were foundational to American puppetry: Jim Henson can be considered a direct artistic descendant. Sarg became a cottage industry of production, even doing notebooks, porcelain figures, posters, writing paper, napkins, cloth patterns. He did the official World's Fair Pictorial Map for the New York even in 1939. The guy was just prolific. Much of this book is taken from his original artwork, including complete calendars, books and more that evidently was carefully preserved by the family. It's a delight.