The Project Gutenberg EBook of The First Book of Eve, by Edward Huskinson This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: The First Book of Eve Author: Edward Huskinson Contributor: Richard King Illustrator: Anne Harriet Fish Release Date: October 2, 2019 [EBook #60404] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FIRST BOOK OF EVE *** Produced by Richard Tonsing, ellinora, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) The Adventures of Eve are continued weekly in THE TATLER which is by common consent The brightest, prettiest, most unique Weekly Paper in the world. THE UNIQUE PAPER E H A H F The First Book of Eve. DRAWN BY FISH. WRITTEN AND DESIGNED BY FOWL. Reproduced from and with the kind permission of “The Tatler.” BRENTANO’S, NEW YORK. 1916. D DEDICATED TO THE BOYS IN KHAKI AND BLUE. ear boys, I am dedicating my first little book to you because you have written and told me so often from the North Sea, from “Somewhere in France,” from Africa, and Mesopotamia that my queer sketches have brightened for you some dull or gloomy hours. Bless you! for if that is true, why then I feel that even your frivolous Eve has done her “bit” in this terrible heartrending struggle. And you will understand, dear boys, that I have—notwithstanding Aunt Matilda’s and Uncle Fred’s disapproval—kept gay and frivolous to please you, and not because I didn’t understand and appreciate what you were doing for me, and other little Eves, and above all for our dear old country, which you have saved. Bless you all again and again. That all you wish may come to you as freely and as welcome as your generous appreciation has come to me is the constant wish of— Your loving little friend, EVE. P.S.—Tou-Tou sends a fond lick. I PREFACE. By Richard King. t is not often that an artist evolves a new type—more especially a new comic type. But this is the proud achievement of the artist whose work adorns this little book. “Eve” has now become a clearly recognised figure of modern life, as clearly recognised as are the figures of George Belcher, Dana Gibson, and Bateman, and that very small band of clever artists who have characteristics peculiar to themselves. Few artists, however, have more quickly sprung into world-wide popularity than “Eve.” How great this popularity is may be judged by the numerous imitators which, while they copy many of Eve’s mannerisms, lose all that humour and spirit which make of Eve’s art such a fascinating and irresistible thing. For Eve possesses a gift which cannot be imitated, no matter how clever the artist who imitates her may be. Each person’s sense of humour—or lack of it—belongs to them alone. And it is Eve’s humour which make her delightful drawings so appealing. She has that sense of the “absurd” which is one of the rarest senses in all black-and-white art. And yet, while her irresistible humour makes one laugh, while her drawings fascinate us by their quaintness, she is never so far removed from reality as to be merely a painter of the human grotesque. Therein lies so much of her genius. She paints humanity with the eye of one who can see the comic in everyday people and things, and yet she never lets her feeling for the ridiculous obliterate her feeling for Truth. It is to be regretted that the clever letters which these drawings originally illustrated in “The Tatler” cannot be reproduced on account of their topicality. But in judging these fascinating drawings merely from the point of view of their humour and charm, one is apt to overlook the fact that Eve—while possessing a style which is unique—is also, and at the same time, a designer of remarkable gifts. It is, perhaps, as a designer that she will appeal most greatly to an artist. Each of her drawings is an exquisite example of this gift for design. Their line, their “proportion,” as it were, and the clever use she makes of black—big splashes of black—all help to make her drawings exquisite little pictures—“pictures” in the popular sense—as well as wonderful examples of technique and imagination. Another thing about all her drawings is their feminine daintiness. Each design is as dainty as the heroine who appears in nearly all of them. With a few strokes, a dot here and there, a line, she can suddenly bring before our eyes a perfectly-recognisable type. In this way her gifts are superior even to Phil May, who surely, more than many artists, obtained his effects with the least number of unessentials. Moreover, Eve never draws what I must call a “dead” figure. Everyone—everything, almost—is alive. Her animals—burlesques of animals though they be—are full of character and fun. Even such things as motor-cars, ships, and carriages—which, from the point of view of an artist painting nothing but the truth, are out of all proportion—possess a quaintness which somehow accords better with the picture than if they were perfect models of technical knowledge and drawing. Eve gives a comic twist to men and women of this world, but in that comic “twist” we seem to see and know them better, and to know them better is to love them more. That is one of the reasons, perhaps, why these fascinating drawings are so popular and so adored. Here beginneth— 5 —The Adventures of Eve Being an irresponsible record of some incidents in the career of a frivolous little lady—to say nothing of Adam, Aunt Matilda, Uncle Fred, and Tou-Tou. The successful invasion of the London stage by American artistes induces Eve to abandon her habitual reserve and appear (for charity) in a revue especially written for her by Sir Peter Pan. In order to avoid shocking the susceptibilities of the “past smart set,” who are these war times very early-Victorian, she has depicted herself at the moment when her scarcity of costume was obliterated by the mass of floral tributes hurled by an enraptured audience 6 Eve, Evelyn, and Evelinda rising to the occasion by forming a posse of police. With the aid of Uncle Fred they practise the necessary gymnastics to fit them for the force with such success that— —they are able to astonish and convince a real copper as to their suitability for action Eve as a Policeman and Some War-time Cooks. Servant Susie’s making shells for soldiers, so a splendid example is set to the ordinary citizeness by the titled rich, who are busy taking cookery lessons. It is, indeed, right that we stay-at-home men should in our trenchers share the dangers of our active brothers in their trenches 7 A daily paper says, “You can always tell when a girl has a young man at the front by the regimental badge she wears.” Eve likes the idea, and being at the moment enraptured with a Highland laddie determines that the world shall know it Those people who were wont to think the tight skirt unwomanly are hoping that the full skirt will bring back the modesty of the Victorian era. Eve hopes so, too; here she is in the new spotted veil cultivating a demure expression The Dramatic Story of Eve’s Career as a Hospital Nurse. Eve and her sisters, Evelyn and Evelinda, tired of enforced inactivity, decide to do their bit at the front—or near it, and are here seen making their preparations for departure Here we have the wet and warm farewells on the parental doorstep. We have sternly pointed out to Eve that her costume is not the regulation one for the nursing sisterhood; but, as Eve says, all that matters is to look nice and be nice When Eve, Evelyn, and Evelinda arrived at their destination they were promptly set to work scrubbing the floors and washing the dishes, while less ornamental but considerably more useful workers attended to the dear soldiers. Eve, Evelyn, and Evelinda, if disappointed, were full of patriotism, so they worked—and worked— Till the authorities, in pure compassion, assisted our tired little friends back home— Where, with the blissful consciousness of duty done, may still be found wrapped in dreamless slumber Eve, Evelyn, and Evelinda 8 9 Eve goes down to the east coast for a rest cure. The first night she heard a bang and woke with a start and a cry of “Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” Uncle Fred, her kind and genial host, also awoke with a start and a cry of “—— ——” (censored). “It’s those —— Zeppelins,” he said It was Zeppelins, and Eve and uncle came down three flights of stairs like shells from a gun, while, as for poisonous gas—well, you should have heard Uncle Fred! —I repeat, you should have heard Uncle Fred when he landed with Eve on the top of him. It was the finest hymn of hate ever heard on the east coast Eve Stays on the East Coast with Uncle Fred— 10 Anyway, here are Eve and uncle entrenched under the dining-room table. Eve is saying, “Are your teeth chattering, dear?” which is annoying uncle, for, as Eve well knows, they are up in the glass on his dressing-table Soon the Zeppelins passed away, and uncle, who had suffered severely down the stairs, made a slow but comfortable recovery —And Enjoys her First Experience of the Zeps. —And is now having the time of his life in London, where admiring crowds of both sexes take him for a wounded hero straight from the front. Uncle Fred is himself beginning to believe he has been there 11 Astound them she certainly did—not the less because of the regularity with which she mistakenly pressed down the accelerator instead of the brake. Here we see her during one of the forward leaps consequent on the error No mechanism, any more than any man, was ever built to resist Eve’s unexpected little ways, with the result that she, although assured as to the astonishment of her friends, is less certain as to the envy she aroused. (In case of any misunderstanding, we may add that the picture is supposed to represent Eve trying to repair her car in the most crowded and fashionable spot in the park) The shortage in postmen grows apace. Eve, as ever, steps into the breach, and you can imagine the unadulterated joy of one of her admirers who, unshorn and untidy, opens the door of his flat to receive from her a pink and scented missive She signalises Italy’s splendid entry into the field of hostilities on the side of the Allies by adopting the famous Bersaglieri headgear Eve Buys a Motor Car. Eve, deciding that pedestrianism in these days of lady- driven cars is too dangerous and exciting a pursuit, determines to get a runabout of her own. Regard her then endeavouring to fascinate one of the typical little nuts which in those days adorned a fashionable garage The car being chosen and the preliminary instructions having been obtained, Eve, full of pride and rapture, bids farewell to her little friend and sets forth to astound and arouse the envy of her dearest friends in the park However, all troubles come eventually to an end, and Adam, poor dear, just back from the trenches, learns at last what real fear means. The fat rolling lines at the bottom of the picture are supposed to represent the dust which kindly Nature raised to hide the casualties in Eve’s wake, but in reality they were put in to hide Eve’s weakness in drawing car wheels War economy proceeds apace, and Eve shows us that since brandy balls and “sich like” have taken the place of the tiny liqueur, society, straining after simplicity and innocence, has adopted a popular game reminiscent of our childhood. Adam, lucky man, drops the sweet, which the expectant fair catch in their tiny mouths 12 13 14 Study of Eve pondering deeply as to how she can help, these critical times. (We don’t wear sleeves on our nighties nowadays—for economy’s sake) The merit of the poor “special” who guards gasworks and bridges is, in Eve’s opinion, sadly overlooked. A few little charming al fresco suppers to a few special “specials” is a duty she delights in Just a Few Odds and Ends. Eves are not only driving ’buses, but also conducting them these war times. Our picture represents the old brigade of ’bus riders helplessly imploring our heroine to stop and pick them up. Eve, however, having landed a few khaki heroes, is forsaking the regular route to take them for a little joy-ride to Richmond Park 15 Here we have a vivid picture of Eve, hamper packed and ready (Tou-Tou on guard), keeping one eye open for the alarm. A considerable clamour awakens her, so— —she arises fixes her respirator, and prepares to descend to the darkness of the cellars— The Zeps Threaten Again. Alas! the Coaching Clubs’ fascinating meets are a thing of the past Eve draws up a list of things to do if the Zeps do come. She is seen reading it to Tou-Tou, who is visibly impressed She carefully packs her hamper every night in case she may have to pic-nic out among the débris of her home the next day. Tou-Tou, as you see, is wearing his respirator —only to find the disturbance was caused by a cordon of those gallant fellows, the “Extry-Spechuls,” who are visibly determined to guard her from all possible calamity 16 17 Patriotic women are energetically undertaking the work of Adams engaged in military duties. Eve desires to form a corps to supplement “the Methusiliers” or “the Last Gaspers” in case of invasion. Here is Eve being sworn in—a new experience, though, thanks to Uncle Fred, she is used to being sworn at They found firing practice a little trying and dangerous, although the method of holding the rifle as demonstrated by our artist certainly mitigates the unpleasantness of the kick back The cavalry section also had their difficulties Eve Mobilises her Sisters. This is not the frivolous picture it appears, but represents little Eves in training for E.C.D.C. (Eve’s Coastal Defence Corps). Of course, the first thing to do is to learn to swim. Eve cannot tell us where this is taking place, as it would give away the (amatory) disposition of the Grand Fleet, which anchored dangerously close in soon after operations commenced But the grand finale of the procession of the various units of the corps through London was an immediate success. The immense concourse of young men which followed in its wake were all inveigled into the recruiting office, a result which of course justified to the full the existence of the corps 18 19 This is just Tou-Tou in Imperial mood (it has nothing to do with the submarine story, but fills an awkward blank.—Eve) The bold and wicked air-pirates grappled Eve as planned, but (hooray for the Navy!) the gallant officer on the conning tower was able to seize her shapely limbs as she drifted over him, and, with the help of his equally gallant crew, effected a rescue at the expense of Eve’s already diminutive bathing creation— —and, warm and happy, Eve is conveyed back to land at the slowest possible speed Eve’s Adventure with the Gallant Submarine. Eve, overcome by her war energies in London, returns to the east coast, where we find her enjoying a peaceful dip far, as one would think, from war’s alarms. But— —suddenly she sees one of England’s gallant submarines appearing to investigate her presence. Her intense interest in its approach blinds her to the fact of an inimical gas-bag approaching with the evident intention of making the important capture of our little friend with the grappling iron 20 21 The constant flow of Eve’s khaki-clad friends, perennially anxious as to her progress, causes the first rift in the lute between her employer and herself— —which is distinctly widened by the monopoly she gradually obtains over the telephone for social purposes Finally, every clerk being prostrate with heart weakness, and the clerical work in the office at a standstill, Eve’s business career is cut short by her unappreciative master. By a careless swing of the purse Eve is endeavouring to show you her extreme nonchalance in a difficult situation Eve Goes into the City and Relieves a Man for Active Service. Eve, patriotically wishful to release an able- bodied Adam for active service, applies for and obtains a situation as clerk in the office of a susceptible merchant— —who in due course introduces her to his staff, who are no less pleasantly affected by our charming little friend than their stern and businesslike employer 22 23