Mattie Palmer, my new heroine, is Jeanette’s younger sister. Since Where the Light Falls is set in 1878–1880 and ANONYMITY in 1908, this magazine cover comes halfway between the chronologically. It’s sort of like a Rorschach test: Would Jeanette’s art be leading her this direction? Would Mattie like it? The fact is, I myself find it elegant yet I can’t make it relate to either of my characters. What does that tell me? I’m not sure, but I think it helps deepen an imaginary world to test it against pictures and objects.
I believe the artist for this cover was Louis J. Rhead, but I have not been able to confirm it.
For more vintage covers of women’s magazines, click here.
For a great jigsaw puzzle based on another 19th C Christmas magazine cover, click here. I loved it so much, I bought one for the holidays.