 Since Adirondack Retro acquired Darvill's Rare Prints in August of 2022, we have been working tirelessly on our New State-Of-The Art Website. We are excited to announce that it is now up and running and that our massive inventory of Antique Prints and Rare Maps are being transferred over to the new site daily. In addition to the nearly 500,000 prints found on www.DarvillsRarePrints.com, Adirondack Retro offers an eclectic selection of Antique and Vintage Advertisements along with their Limited Edition Giclee Prints. During this transition, customers will still be able to shop and make purchases on www.DarvillsRarePrints.com. Sign up for our Mailing List and receive our Adirondack Retro Newsletter. When you sign up, we will email you a coupon code for you to get 15% OFF your first order at AdirondackRetro.com. |
(excerpts from In 'Vanity Fair'
by Roy T. Matthews and Peter Mellini)
This book is widely regarded as the authoritative source of information about Vanity Fair magazine. We highly recommend it for your further edification. Many public libraries contain the volume. Sadly, it is now out of print and getting difficult to obtain a copy for purchase. We may have one available for purchase — please call or email if interested.
Why "Spy"?
The Vanity Fair caricatures have become widely know as "Spy" prints due to the 1325 caricatures drawn by Sir Leslie Ward, who was a fixture at Vanity Fair for over 40 years. Ward and editor Bowles picked the name "Spy" from the dictionary to become Ward's nom de crayon. Many also cite Ward's propensity for methodical study of his 'victims' for many hours before beginning preliminary sketches as the real reason the name "Spy" stuck.
'Spy': Leslie Ward, by PAL, 1889
'Ape': Carlo Pellegrini, by AJM, 1889
Carlo Pellegrini ("Ape") also did caricatures for the magazine for over 20 years (approx. 333 cartoons), so the prints might have become know as "Ape" prints were it not for Leslie Ward!
