Charles Falls

Charles Falls was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on 10th December 1874. As a young man he moved to Chicago where he a sketch artist for the Chicago Tribune. Later he became a freelance artist and in 1900 he moved to New York City where he illustrated many different books for various authors, as well as various magazines and posters.

During the First World War he produced war propaganda for the Committee on Public Information's Division of Pictorial Publicity. Falls illustrated posters throughout the war that promoted military recruitment. The most famous of these was Books Wanted .that depicted a soldier carrying a stack of books. The caption reads: Books wanted for our men in camp and over there. Take your gifts to the public library (1918). He also produced the poster Join Me. The First to Fight on Land and Sea: US Marines (1918).

In 1923, Falls teamed up with Doubleday editor May Massee to create The ABC Book. It features wood block cuts of various animals that are used to help represent certain letters of the alphabet, and utilizes blue, green, orange, and yellow backgrounds to enhance the black-inked woodcuts. The book was highly successful and Falls went on to illustrate several other children's books.

Falls also became involved in many different art forms. He designed fabrics and furniture. He was also involved in stage design, helping to design scenery and costumes for the Palace Theatre and Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York. Falls also created designs and illustrations for various magazines, including Collier's Weekly and Everybody's magazines.

Charles Falls died on 15th April 1960.