Boy Scout 1912 - #2

The second Boy Scout in this series, taken from this photo on Shorpy.com. Check back a few posts if you missed the first one.
I’m going to try to get one more in this series finished before I leave for APE on Friday, then the rest soon after I return.
July 4th, 1900

Baby Otto Research Fun Fact: Two fun fact days in a row! In 1900, Portland held a three-day long Independence Day celebration. There was a big parade on the 4th, when for the first time in Portland’s history, the Chinese residents of the town were allowed to be a part of the parade. They made quite the good impression on the city, according to the local paper, by marching with a huge dragon made of silk and lighting off fireworks.
Boy Scout 1912 - #1

Here’s my take on this photo as seen on Shorpy.com, a consistently inspiring website chock full of photos from the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The original is from a series of six photos of Boy Scouts from 1912, all pretending to be injured, to document their training.
I plan to illustrate all six eventually.
This one also happens to coincide with this week’s Illustration Friday theme, “repair.”
July 3rd, 1900


Baby Otto Research Fun Fact: There really was a Kellar, and he was quite the famous magician apparently. He really did perform magic shows in Portland on July 2nd and 3rd of 1900. He was scheduled to perform on the 4th of July as well, but ended up canceling so he could participate in Portland’s Independence Day parade, it was all over the papers. But that’s tomorrow, so you’ll have to wait.
June 29th, 1900

Oh, it’s fun referencing yourself, isn’t it?

I decided to switch up the characters on the cover from now on, most of the volumes will still be Otto, but not all; gotta give someone else a chance, right?






