Category: 1880s

In 1886, Farny completed two paintings which may have been companion pieces. One is called ‘An” Old-Timer”‘, currently located at the Blanton Museum, and the other is titled “Cowboy”, which…

Farny completed two illustrations for a two-issue story called Donny Boy, by Bjalmar Bjorth Boyesen, that appeared in Harper’s Young People. These two issues also included Farny illustrations for the…

Lillian Campbell Davidson wrote The Shark Light-House, a story appearing in the August 30, 1887, issue of Harper’s Young People. Farny contributed the only image. Interestingly, the signature he used…

Farny worked with Baldwin and Company to create this “Walks about Cincinnati“, a publication that was likely created for visitors to Cincinnati as part of the 1888 Exposition. Farny, having…

Farny is once again working in conjunction with William Venable, this time for Footprints of the Pioneers in the Valley: A Centennial Sketch.

Cincinnati publishers Cranston & Stowe published this ode by C. M. Clarke to the water ways and railroad buttes of Ohio, one of a series of guide-books Clarke edited that…

This unusual book, written by Eli F. Brown, with illustrations by Farny, highlights the dangers of alcohol and narcotics. The full name is The house I live in, or, An…

Farny’s Suspicious Guests was published in the February 05, 1887, issue, of Harper’s Weekly, pages 96-97. I have yet to locate the original of this illustration. After seeing the illustration…

On May 14, 1883, the Cincinnati News-Journal reported that Farny had completed a painting he called Issue Day at Standing Rock and would soon send it to Harper’s Weekly. The…

Farny’s Down the Grade From the Divide capture the playful spirit of two men riding a hand car down from camp to get some supplies. It was published in Harper’s…

Famed sculptor Niehaus and Farny made a trip to California’s San Francisco during September of 1887. It’s likely the trip influenced the two-page illustration Farny created for the April 20,…

In the March 09, 1889, Harper’s Weekly published Farny’s sketches of a natural Salt Lake that now lies on the border of Minnesota and South Dakota. If he visited the…

Cerealine were uncooked mashed grits that, before baked and used as cereal, were used in the brewing industry. At some point in the 1880s they were toasted (and malted?) and…

The January 1887 issue of Century Magazine included a short story about a horse race that Farny illustrated. The originals of this illustration have been digitized, scans located at the…

The Baldwin Company and Henry Farny joined forces in 1886 to create a souvenir the celebrated the Opening of the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Seventh May Festival. The brochure…

On September 01, 1883, several Cincinnati newspapers announced that The Week: Illustrated, a new illustrated newspaper, would begin publishing issues starting that same day. Mike Morgan and Henry Farny were…

In late 1888, Robert Clarke & Company began promoting William Venables book, Footprints of the Pioneers. Farny illustrated six images for the book. Given Farny’s use of the symbol in…

The Century Magazine published a long series on the life of Abraham Lincoln. It included a look back to President Lincoln’s forefather, who was also named Abraham Lincoln. It was…

Kate Upson Clark wrote a short story for the December 21, 1886, issue of Harper’s Young People called Christmas in the Canyon. Farny illustrated a piece for the story.

The book Howling Wolf and His Trick-Pony, by Mrs. LIzzie W. Champney, was released in 1886, though I could only find an 1888 version for our purposes. 1886 ads like…

The 1884 book of Eclectic’s Primary History of the United State included a sketch showing an Indian against a steep rock, gun in hand. Farny would later repeat this theme…

On September 17, 1889, Harper’s Young Magazine began publishing a Serialize story by William Stoddard called Red Mustang, A Story of the Mexican Border. Farny illustrated one image per magazine…

The Blanton Museum at the University of Texas has, amongst its collection of Farnys, a painting he completed in 1889 called Peace Be With You. It closely resembled a sketch…

In 1879, Harper’s Weekly introduced a magazine focused on young people called Harper’s Young People. By that year, there are a number of rivals targeting youthful readers. One example to…

At some point in 1883, Henry Farny and Reporter/Editor Eugene V. Smalley, both working for the Century Magazine, among other pursuits, began planning for an 1884 trip down the Missouri,…

In 1888 the Cincinnati held its Centennial Exposition. Harper’s Weekly covered the story in its July 14, 1888, issue and included two Farny images, one on page 508 and one…

For the entire month of 1883 Farny was on the move. He’d been lucky enough to join President Henry Villard’s Northern Pacific Last Spike procession that transported four trains of…

In Harper’s Weekly July 24, 1886, Farny’s illustration A Cheyenne Courtship made the cover. It can be viewed below: In 1892, Farny created a very similar, more refined painting of…

As in 1883 and 1884, Farny attended the Southern Exposition in Louisville and Harper’s Weekly published his illustration from the event. It appeared in the August 29, 1885, issue, pg…

In 1883, Farny and Dewitt C. Waugh collaborated on a theatre screen for the Bijou theatre in New York City. The screen was a big hit. The Cincinnati Enquirer quoted…