Biography

 Marie Louise Quarles Bonte and George Willard Bonte are probably best known for their book ABC in Dixie - A Plantation Alphabet, published in 1904 by Ernest Nister. Book News - An Illustrated Magazine of Literature and Books, Vol 23, September 1904 - August 1905 (p 236) described it as "An alphabet of exaggerated negro pictures in garish color, printed in Germany, giving closely the German view of negro aspect."   The book is quite difficult to find completely intact. Its scarcity and shocking nature to today's sensibilities make any full copies something of great interest and therefore of some value, to a variety of collectors. 

 Willard Bonte did other solo work including 1904's Fun and Nonsense, which featured anthropomorphic characters. He is credited with both the illustrations and the writing for it. He did other such personified characters for Raphael Tuck. An image from his book Sandman Rhymes (also from 1904 - quite an industrious year for Bonte) makes an appearance in Tuck's Coupling Pin post card series from the 1920s.  

Bonte was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on May 16th, 1873. By 1899, he was an artist on the staff of Outing Magazine. He was by this time living in New York, New York. Bonte dabbled in political cartooning, including an image with poem in the Lexington Herald of May 1916, regarding German U-boats in support of the US entering WWI. Much of his time was undoubtedly consumed by his role as Art Director of the New York Herald from 1906 - 1920. He died March 3, 1946 after seeing the world emerge from yet another massive war.

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New. Very good condition. Please see photos.
            Suitable for Reading, Collecting or Study

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The important stuff:

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