Jessie Gillespie Willing (March 28, 1888 – August 1, 1972) was an American illustrator during the Golden Age of illustration. She was considered the foremost silhouette illustrator of her time, although she did traditional illustration as well. Willing illustrated for books and magazines including Life, The Ladies' Home Journal, Woman's Home Companion, Mother and Child, McClure's Magazine, Childhood Education, the Sunday Magazine, Association Men (the magazine of the YMCA), Farm and Fireside, Every Week, Children: The Magazine for Parents (which became Parents Magazine), and the American Magazine. She is perhaps most well known for her work for the Girl Scouts.
Early life
Willing was born in Brooklyn on March 28, 1888, to John Thomson Willing (August 4, 1860 – July 8, 1947) and Charlotte Elizabeth Van Der Veer Willing (December 1, 1859 – March 4, 1930). Thomson Willing was a noted illustrator and art editor. He was also well known for finding new artistic talent. Jessie Willing was the eldest of three children. Her brother Van Der Veer (November 30, 1889 – January 14, 1919), who died of pneumonia at the age of 29, was an advertising agent. Her sister Elizabeth Hunnewell Willing (July 26, 1908 – August 15, 1991) was one of the first women to graduate from the Philadelphia Divinity School. Elizabeth married the Rev. Orrin Judd, rector of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, on September 22, 1931, and was active in church work.
The Willing family moved to the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia in 1901 or 1902. Jessie Willing attended the Stevens School, from which she graduated in 1905. She then went on to attend the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts from 1906 to 1907.
Career
Willing used her middle name Gillespie as her professional surname. She also often signed her illustrations J.G. The story goes that the art editor of Life magazine was in Thomson Willing's office when he was the art editor of the Associated Sunday Magazine syndicate. Thomson Willing had some of Jessie's artwork on his desk, which the Life editor saw and admired. He asked for the artist's information so that he could give her freelance work. Thomson Willing did not want to be accused of nepotism so he persuaded Jessie to use Jessie Gillespie as her professional name, which she did.
In addition to her extensive illustration work, Willing was also the editor of Heirlooms and Masterpieces from 1922 to 1931 and the art editor of Jewelers' Circular-Keystone from 1933 to 1939. She specialized in jewelry publicity and advertising. In 1966 she won the Gold medal of the Printing Week Graphic Arts Exhibit in Philadelphia for her Christmas catalog for J.E. Caldwell Co., Philadelphia.
Willing was a member of the Plastic Club of Philadelphia, the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and the National Arts Club of New York. She was an honorary life member of the National Arts Club and served on its Board of Governors from 1941 to 1970. In 1963, she received the Gold Medal of the National Arts Club in recognition of 32 years of selfless devotion. Additionally, she was the national director of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) from 1943 to 1946. Previous to this she served as the Program Chairman of the AIGA and in that position she put together a travelling exhibit on the "history of narrative art from the first recorded picture story to the comic book of the twentieth century."
Illustrations in books
With Tongue and PenFrederick Bair, et al. (MacMillan, 1940) Masoud the BedouinAlfred Post Carhart (Missionary Education Movement, 1915) The Path of the GopatisZilpha Carruthers (National Dairy Council, 1926) The Schoolmaster and His Son: A Narrative of the Thirty Years WarKarl Heinrich Caspari (Lutheran Publication Society, 1917) On a Rainy DayDorothy Canfield Fisher and Sarah Scott Fisher (A.S. Barnes and Co., 1938) Book of Games for Home, School and PlaygroundWilliam B. Forbush and Harry R Allen (John C. Winston, 1927) Making Life CountEugene C. Foster (Interchurch Press, 1918) Precious Books: Why and Where They are TreasuredJessie Gillespie (A.T. Walraven Book Cover Co., 1933) The Story of Little Goody Two-Shoes(Grosset & Dunlap, 1944) The Wisdom of Professor Happy, by the Professor HimselfCliff Goldsmith (Child Health Organization of America, 1922) Cho-Cho and the Health FairyEleanor Glendower Griffith (MacMillan Co., 1922) Travels of a Rolled OatGrace T. Hallock (Quaker Oats Co, 1929) Grain Through the AgesGrace T. Hallock (Quaker Oats Co., 1931) A Flower of Monterey: A Romance of the CaliforniasKatherine B. Hamill (The Page Company, 1921) Miss Gay's Adventures in First Aid, Series No. II: Artificial Respiration and the Need for InhalatorsMargaret Daly Hopkins (Hopkins Chart Co. 1936) Ann of AvaEthel Daniels Hubbard (Missionary Education Movement, 1913) The MoffatsEthel Daniels Hubbard (Missionary Education Movement, 1917) Spending the Day in China, Japan and the PhilippinesSally Lucas Jean and Grace T. Hallock (Harper and Brothers, 1932) A Lovely Gate Set Wide: A Book of Catholic Verse for Young ReadersSister Patrice Margaret (The Bruce Publishing Co., 1946) The Pageant of Protestantism: Celebrating the Quadricentennial of the ReformationHarriet Earhart Monroe (The Lutheran Publication Society, 1917) Is this Tomorrow?A. E. Osmond (Ernest Benn, 1949) All Around the clock: Tales of Service and SportGeorge Frederick Park (The Lutheran Publication Society, 1917) Grif of Greenbrier FarmGeorge Frederick Park (The Lutheran Publication Society, 1917) Everychild's Book IllustratedAntoinette Rotan Peterson (MacMillan Company, 1922) Rhymes of Cho Cho's GrandmaMrs. Frederick Peterson (Children's Health Organization of America, 1920) Living with the FamilyHazel Huston Price (Little, Brown and Co., 1942) The Knight in Grey: A Historical NovelMarie E. Richard (The Lutheran Publication Society, 1913) The Honey Pot, Or, In the Garden of Lelita Norval Richardson (L.C. Page & Co., 1912) The Three Kings, translated from the German by Gustav NieritzRebecca H. Schively (The Lutheran Publication Society) The Singing Weaver and Other StoriesJulius and Margaret Seebach (The Lutheran Publication Society, 1917) Other Peoples' ChildrenMargaret R. Seebach (The Lutheran Publication Society, 1914) Soldier Silhouettes on our FrontWilliam Le Roy Stidger (Scribner, 1918) Star Dust from the Dugouts: A Reconstruction BookWilliam Le Roy Stidger (The Abingdon Press, 1919) HealthC.E. Turner and Georgie B. Collins (D.C. Heath and Company, 1924) The What-Shall-I-Do-Girl: Or, the Career of Joy KentIsabel Waitt (L.C. Page & Co., 1913) The Birds' Christmas CarolMrs. Kate D. Wiggin (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1941) The Pleasuring of Susan SmithHelen Maria Winslow (Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, 1912)
Illustrations in Life magazine Illustrations appearing in Life magazine:
Adele, A-Dell, “Adele!, July 9, 1914 All, All are Gone, The Old Familiar Faces, April 7, 1910 And I Sent Her Only a Christmas Card!, December 1, 1910 At Any Matinee, April 15. 1909 At the Afternoon Tea: ’The Ill-bred Line, August 1, 1912 Baseball Term: “Perfect Control But No Speed, October 26, 1911 Blessed Be the Tie That Binds, November 10, 1910 Bride: Quick, John! There's Another Grain!, March 17, 1910 Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble, June 15, 1911 The Date Palm and the Rubber Plant, July 31, 1919 Desperation, Inspiration, Anticipation, Realization, March 1, 1915 The Difference Between Counter Irritants and Counter Attractions, September 8, 1910 A Directoire Wash Day, March 11, 1909 Dutch Treat, May 28, 1914 Grandmothers, March 11, 1909 Hark the Herald Angels Sing, December 7, 1911 In the Hands of the Receiver, December 7, 1916 January First: God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen. Let Nothing You Dismay, December 29, 1910 A Jug of Wine and Thou, March 31, 1910 The Land(ing) of the Free, December 15, 1910 Metamorphosis, April 29, 1909 Miss’ill Toe The Mark, December 7, 1911 The Modern Pied Piper, March 24, 1910 More Speed, Less Haste, January 6, 1910 Needs Must When Fashion Drives, March 2, 1911 Oh, the Difference Between Kissing a Miss, and Missing a Kiss!, December 25, 1913 Oh, Woman in Your Hours of Ease, October 13, 1910 Palms, March 31, 1910 Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men, December 2, 1909 The Right Kind of ‘Protection, September 7, 1911 Sister! As Others See Us, April 7, 1910 So Thoughtful of YouJust What I Wanted, December 2, 1909 Some are Born Rich, Some Achieve Riches, and Some Have Riches Thrust Upon Them Styles for 1909: But Where Do We Come In?, December 3, 1908 Syncopation, Desperation, Renunciation, Abnegation, Consummation But ----ation, August 31, 1916 The Theatre Train, March 9, 1911 ’There was no room for them in the inn’.St. Luke 2:7, December 2, 1915 They Toil Not, Neither Do They Spin, March 3, 1910 To Them That Hath, April 27, 1911 Town and Country, May 6, 1909 Trying Psycho-Physico Suggestion, September 22, 1910 Valentines, February 2, 1911 What Next? January 28. 1909 The Woman Tempted Me and I Did Eat, March 23, 1911 A Women's Work is Never Done, November 26, 1908
Illustrations in other magazines "The Kindergarten and the Nursery School Movement"Julia Wade Abbot (Mother and Child, February 1923) "Health Habits in the Kindergarten"Julia Wade Abbot (Mother and Child, December 1921) "The Blue Store: A Bit of Business Magic"Richard Bracefield (McClure's, July 1913) "Lucy and the Fairies"Margaret Brearley (Childhood Education, September 1927) "Chicago, the Healthiest City"Herman N. Bundesen (Chicago's Health, June 29. 1926) "Prevent Preventable Diseases"Herman N. Bundesen (Chicago's Health, October 12, 1926). "Afternoon Tea at Washington"Adele Steiner Burleson (Sunday Magazine, December 2, 1913) "The Gym or the 'Jimmies'"Ellis Parker Butler (Association Men, September 1927) "The Thing You Want May Be Right at Your Elbow"J.S. Cates (Farm and Fireside, November 1919) "Well, What's New in Your Line?"James H. Collins (Every Week, March 2, 1918) "Does Your Farming Ever Take You Back to School?"James H. Collins (Farm and Fireside, March 1919) "The Child at the Christmas Play"Jessie Collin (Ladies' Home Journal, December 1914) "ProhibitionAnd Your Farm"William Harpter Dean (Fire and Fireside, July 1919)Cite journal |last=Dean |first=William Harpter |date=July 1919 |title=Prohibition – And Your Farm |url=https://archive.org/details/CAT30991229121/page/n5/mode/2up |journal=Farm and Fireside |volume=43 |issue=7 |page=5 |via=Internet Archive "The Comedy of Clothes"Jessie Gillespie (Sunday Magazine, January 3, 1915) Cover ArtJessie Gillespie (The Smart Set, March 1913) Cover ArtJessie Gillespie (Sunday Magazine, February 4, 1912) Cover ArtJessie Gillespie (Sunday Magazine, April 7, 1912) Cover ArtJessie Gillespie (Association Men, December 1922) "Frontispiece"Jessie Gillespie (Mother and Child, February 1923) "Panta=loons"Jessie Gillespie (Sunday Magazine, October 25, 1914) "The Comic in Dress"Grace Margaret Gould (Woman's Home Companion, March 1915) "The Deceitful Mirror"Grace Margaret Gould (Woman's Home Companion, September 1913) "Good Lucks: After Vacation Comes Renovating Time for Faces"Grace Margaret Gould (Woman's Home Companion, October 1919) "How Do You Wear Your Hat?"Grace Margaret Gould (Woman's Home Companion, April 1919) "How to be happy Through Traveling"Grace Margaret Gould (Woman's Home Companion, June 1918) "As Bad as She's Painted? I Should Say Not!"Corra Harris (Pictorial Review, January 1922) "The Rain-Maker and the Missionary"Harold B. Hunting (Everland, December 1917) "Is Your Child's Health Threatened by Your Indifference?"Sally Lucas Jean (Children: The Magazine for Parents, December 1926) "What are Good Manners? Can You Afford to Have Less Than the Best?"Henry Churchill King (The Delineator, June 1916) "Adventures in Money Raising"Frank B. Lenz (Association Men, April 1928)