“If” For Boys, Son - Rare Masculine Buzza Motto Antique Print, Castles Knights Prince / Poet: Rudyard Kipling / Lee Mero (Inspirational Mottos) at InSpirit Antiques

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“If” For Boys, Son - Rare Masculine Buzza Motto Antique Print, Castles Knights Prince / Poet: Rudyard Kipling / Lee Mero (Image1)

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BLACK FRIDAY EXTENDED ONE WEEK HOLIDAY SALE!!! ENJOY 25% OFF ALL INVENTORY NOW THROUGH DECEMBER 4TH!!! Make your holidays memorable...Find a unique inspirational antique gift for everyone on your list this holiday season! And remember...LAYAWAY is ALWAYS an OPTION & it's FREE!!! PAYPAL ACCEPTED / FAST SHIPPING!!! Use coupon code 1130 when ordering for 25% off.

Circa: 1910
Condition: Excellent Original Condition
Size: Height - 10 ¾” Width - 7 ¾”
Manufacturer: Published By: Doubleday, Page, & Company / Distributed By: The Buzza Company, Minneapolis
This Is Not your typical "IF" motto. This IS a rare, very elaborate, masculine Buzza motto print titled, "IF" by famous poet, Rudyard Kipling. The words of this "IF" motto are written for a man and son, which is very rare to see.

It’s much more common to see the "IF" motto for Girls, rather than Boys, let alone the "IF" motto for a Young Man and Son. The lettering is fancy, yet easy to read and remains bold. Under the motto, but above the illustrations, is the publisher, manufacturer, and the date. It reads, "Copyright 1910, by Rudyard Kipling; Doubleday, Page, & Company, Publishers; All Rights Reserved; Distributed by the Buzza Co., Minneapolis". Not only is the sentiment itself beautiful, but the extensive and elaborate illustrations framing this motto are enchanting and quite fascinating. This masculine, magical, and Mid-Evil-type scene is full of many nice details throughout, much of which are highlighted with an attractive gold shimmer. The fantastic scene features a large, white castle, a prince, and armored knights on horseback trotting through lush greenery, nearing a bridge with more castles in the distance. All of the illustrations are done by the famous, well-known, listed artist, Lee Mero (1885-1977). Incorporated within the greenery, at the very bottom of the print, is his signature. This print is one of Lee Mero’s earliest pieces he did. This print is in excellent original condition, except for a very small piece of the print that is missing in the top left corner. (see photo) This does not detract from the beauty of this piece, nor does it catch your eye, especially with a dark wall background against it or brown paper taped behind it. The decorative, gold-painted molded wood frame is original and very complimentary with its burgundy and green trim colors. Original glass. As for the fogginess that you see in the photos, it is on the underside of the glass and not on the print. It can easily be cleaned off, but I did not attempt to take the backing apart to do so. I can only imagine how absolutely gorgeous this piece would look once the glass was thoroughly cleaned on the inside. The nice, original paper backing is partially torn around the edges, but mostly intact. Original Buzza cloverleaf metal hanger. Circa 1910.

*** I’ve included some interesting information, below, about the famous well-known listed artist / illustrator, LEE MERO:

"There is one man in Minneapolis who has to think in terms of Christmas all year round. Such a man was Lee Mero, a successful commercial artist and illustrator of Christmas greeting cards, who frequently visited Morrison County and became well known in the Little Falls area. Born May 30, 1885, in Ortonville, MN, Lee V. Mero was a younger brother of Dr. Frank H. Mero, a prominent Little Falls dentist around the turn of the century. The Little Falls Daily Transcript followed the accomplishments and exploits of Lee Mero, and through those newspaper articles the story of a talented artist unfolds.

Lee Mero studied art and illustration at the Minneapolis School of Art and later at the Chase School of Art in New York City - both schools which famous Little Falls artist George W. Harting also attended. During the summer of 1908, Lee worked as purser on the steamboat Hopkins on Lake Minnetonka, and made headlines when he saved the life of a seven year old girl who fell overboard and rescued by Mero in a feat of bravery - considering Lee could not swim! His artistic talents also made news as the Transcript in December 1910 reported that large lithographic reproductions of his drawings were on sale locally and were "attracting considerable attention." Quoting from the Minneapolis Tribune, the Transcript in March 1913 carried a lengthy article regarding an exhibition of the Attic Club, a show which included two controversial works by Lee Mero. Done in the Cubist style, his A Gentleman Eating Noodle Soup led the Tribune to muse, "It is expected that this painting will create a furor," when exhibited along with his other painting, The Loss of the 29,000 Hairpins. Furor or not, the Tribune in August 1913 admired Mero as "the artist who painted the Minneapolis scenes reproduced in the charming booklet issued by the Civic and Commerce association for the use of visitors."

In February 1917, Mero spent a month in New York City and made the headlines again when he was arrested for drawing the Brooklyn Bridge! The Transcript, again quoting the Tribune, had a field day explaining how this "prominent member of the Minneapolis art circle" and "respected and admired member of the Attic Club" had so innocently set out to draw the Brooklyn Bridge only to be arrested as a spy. The arresting officer applied the cuffs to innocent Lee, who was unaware that such an act was any violation during the height of World War One. Soon released by a police captain with a stern warning, Mero stayed in New York City long enough to attend a reunion of 21 alumni of the Minneapolis School of Art who resided in the Gotham area and gathered at the famous studio loft of George W. Harting. The following year, Lee won both first and third prizes at the 1918 Minnesota State Fair art exhibit.

Married to Kathryn Rice of Fargo in 1920, Lee briefly moved to Chicago, working for the Chas. D. Frey Advertising Co. where he designed ads for Coca-Cola. Returning to Minneapolis, he became head of the art department of the George Buzza Company (later Buzza-Cardoza Co.), working on poem cards and posters. Around this time he began to concentrate on Christmas greeting cards, and the Transcript via the Tribune reported in December 1921 that Mero labored to create Christmas cards year around: "He sits in his office all his working hours, planning ways to say 'Merry Christmas' in new ways that still have the charm of the old." Neither spring, summer or fall were "allowed to come between him and his all-year Christmas meditations." His cards were noted for their human quality, and his hobby was stated as photographing "crowds at a fire where everyone is straining to see the spectacle; it is from these photographed figures that he gets his inspirations for his Christmas card people. Besides Christmas scenes, Mero painted figures, human activity, and Westerns, including Indian and Native American pictures. He also illustrated a number of book and was a regular contributor to the magazine, ‘Christmas Annuals’ from approx. 1938 to 1980.

Becoming a highly successful creator of Christmas cards, led Mero to work as a freelance artist in 1937, and he was a longtime contributor to the Augsburg Publishing House's famous annual Christmas publication. Lee continued to find success freelancing in design, decorative illustration, creating mottos and greeting cards, until his retirement around 1971. Lee Mero passed away in 1977 at the age of 92, but his art work laden with Christmas themes are timeless in the joy they bring to us all - as if to say - ‘And to all a Merry Christmas!’"
- This above Article was Written By: Bruce Mellor, Copyright 1993
- This above Article is Credited to: The Morrison County Historical Society, MorrisonCountyHistory.org

*** I’ve also included some interesting information, below, about the famous poet, RUDYARD KIPLING:

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936) was an English author and poet. Born in Mumbai (then Bombay, British India), he is best known for his works The Jungle Book (1894) and Just So Stories (1902), his novel, Kim (1901); his poems, including Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), If— (1910); and his many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). He is regarded as a major "innovator in the art of the short story"; his children's books are enduring classics of children's literature; and his best works speak to a versatile and luminous narrative gift.

Kipling was one of the most popular writers in English, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The author Henry James famously said of him: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English language writer to receive the prize, and he remains its youngest-ever recipient. Among other honors, he was sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, all of which he declined.

The Peak of his Career: The first decade of the 20th century saw Kipling at the height of his popularity. In 1907 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The prize citation said: "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author." Nobel prizes had been established in 1901 and Kipling was the first English language recipient. At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 1907, the Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, C.D. af Wirsén, praised both Kipling and three centuries of English literature:

The Swedish Academy, in awarding the Nobel Prize in Literature this year to Rudyard Kipling, desires to pay a tribute of homage to the literature of England, so rich in manifold glories, and to the greatest genius in the realm of narrative that that country has produced in our times.

"Book-ending" this achievement was the publication of two connected poetry and story collections: 1906's Puck of Pook's Hill and 1910's Rewards and Fairies. The latter contained the poem "If—". In a 1995 BBC opinion poll, it was voted Britain's favorite poem. This exhortation to self-control and stoicism is arguably Kipling's most famous poem.

Kipling sympathized with the anti-Home Rule stance of Irish Unionists. He was friends with Edward Carson, the Dublin-born leader of Ulster Unionism, who raised the Ulster Volunteers to oppose "Rome Rule" in Ireland. Kipling wrote the poem "Ulster" in 1912 (?) reflecting this. The poem reflects on Ulster Day (28 September 1912) when half a million people signed the Ulster Covenant.
- The above article is cited from: Wikipedia.org

In short, Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English short-story writer, poet, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, his tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.

Born in Bombay, British India, on December 30th 1865, Rudyard Kipling was the first born child of John Lockwood Kipling and Alice Kipling, who had settled in India earlier that year.

His father was a professor of architectural sculpture; on his mother’s side there was a brace of distinguished Aunts and Uncles for the boy. One Aunt was the mother of Stanley Baldwin, future Prime Minister; another was married to Sir Edward Burne-Jones, the distinguished Pre-Raphaelite Painter. Kipling’s parents considered themselves ‘Anglo-Indians’, and so too would their son, though he in fact spent the bulk of his life elsewhere. Complex issues of identity and national allegiance would become prominent features in his fiction.
- The short article, above, is cited from: ThePotteries.org

*** I’ve also included further information about THE POEM, "IF":

"If" is a poem written in 1895 by Rudyard Kipling and first published in the Brother Square Toes chapter of Rewards and Fairies, Kipling's 1910 collection of short stories and poems. Like William Ernest Henley's Invictus, it is a memorable evocation of Victorian stoicism and the "stiff upper lip" that popular culture has made into a traditional British virtue. Its status is confirmed both by the number of parodies it has inspired, and by the widespread popularity it still draws amongst Britons (it was voted Britain's favorite poem in a 1995 BBC opinion poll).

According to Kipling in his autobiography Something of Myself, posthumously published in 1937, the poem was inspired by Dr Leander Starr Jameson, who in 1895 led a raid by British forces against the Boers in South Africa, subsequently called the Jameson Raid.[1] This defeat increased the tensions that ultimately led to the Second Boer War. The British press, however, portrayed Jameson as a hero in the middle of the disaster, and the actual defeat as a British victory.
- The above article is cited from Wikipedia.org

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