Era I · 1939–1942
As a young child Richard Deane Taylor displayed a talent for what his father complained was unproductive and energy-wasting "scribbling." The elder, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, wanted his son to work manual labor to help with family expenses. But hawking shoelaces or newspapers in the winter cold on the street corner was not the way Richard envisioned he would provide for the family.
His superb ability to recreate the world he saw around him quickly impressed industry professionals. In high school at Brooklyn Tech, Richard expressed himself by reproducing the beauty he longed for in his young, romantic mind. Forced to quit school, a teacher introduced the teen to the pulp-fiction industry where a good "scribbler" gets paid. Richard got a job lettering for Beck and Constanza Studios, and illustrating Fawcett Publications' Shazam! Captain Marvel comic books. Richard's father never "kvetched" again.
Now 17, Richard fit in as a staff cartoonist, even taking on older colleagues' habits — learning to smoke a pipe like the adult staffers. Where most boys his age would have been proud of their job cartooning, Richard held higher ambitions than toiling on comic books for the rest of his career.
Then as fate would have it, Richard got drafted to serve in World War II.
Personal Photographs
Artwork — 1939–1942
A mock Pan American Airlines advertisement drawn for an Art class project at Brooklyn Technical High School. Drawn with a ball-point pen and ink brush, this demonstrates Richard's early fascination with aircraft at just 15 years old.
Drawn from imagination as a portfolio sample — a rustic western wilderness scene demonstrating Richard's command of two-point perspective as a teenager.
Created for Brooklyn Technical High School's internal newspaper publication in 1941, promoting the General Organization. Evidence of white paint corrections shows Richard's perfectionism even in early work.
A pencil study of trees drawn in Monticello, New York, showcasing Richard's naturalistic eye for landscape.
An early study piece demonstrating Richard's growing command of form and shading.
An illustration of the Brooklyn Technical High School seal.
An illustration of a drafting or work area, showing Richard's interest in documenting his surroundings.
A decorated notebook cover page, illustrating the kind of ornamental lettering and design work Richard practiced constantly.
A technical illustration showing a tanning or industrial washing drum — demonstrating the technical drawing skills Richard developed at Brooklyn Tech.
An informational graphic illustrating uses of rubber — a popular subject for educational illustrations during the industrial era.
A comparative then-and-now illustration, a popular format for school publications of the era.
An industrial landscape showing oil field derricks — part of the technical and vocational illustration curriculum at Brooklyn Tech.
Richard's earliest professional lettering work — the beginning of a career that would span seven decades.
A portrait study of the legendary Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini — demonstrating Richard's early interest in capturing likenesses of prominent figures.
A dramatic action scene depicting a bridge explosion — the kind of pulp-fiction storytelling imagery that informed Richard's early comic book work.
Another decorated notebook cover, demonstrating the lettering and design skills that would underpin Richard's entire professional career.