Henry Farny’s trip to Europe between August 1875 and August 1876 interrupted what had become a steady flow of illustrations in books and other outlets. Upon Farny’s return he may have been working on additional drawings for a commission he received while in Germany, while also arranging for a trip west to further his work for that commission.
Eventually, Farny had to return to the kinds of projects he’d undertaken before his trip to Europe, such as in 1875 when he sketched “in that neighborhood of the Brighton House a bird’s eye view of of some hog-pens …. It’s not exactly a picturesque subject; but it makes bread and butter–that’s the chief thing we have to look after, you know.” (Henry Farny, April 04, 1875, The Cincinnati Enquirer, page 2, columns 5-6)
The first documented entry I can find about his return to the world of “Bread and Butter” projects are his illustrations for Kate W. Hamilton’s story General Peg and Her Staff. The April 18, 1877, issue of the Western Christian Advocate on page 125, column 1, noted Farny’s work for the story:
Farny’s illustrations appeared monthly in Golden Hours, For Boys and Girls, one per issue. His work accompanies the serialized story through the December issue, but ends there, while the story continued into 1878.
Chapter 1 Image: July 1877, pg 305 (no signature visible, but perhaps lost in scan)
Chapter 2 Image: August 1877, pg 353
Chapter 3 Image: September 1877, pg 393 (no signature visible, but perhaps lost in scan)
Chapter 4 Image: October 1877, pg 449
Chapter 5 Image: November 1877, pg 504
Chapter 6 Image: December 1877, pg 536
