Page:Some examples of the work of American designers.djvu/10

 Unknown." Some artists are as bad as some business men, they do not always answer letters by return of mail; one man answered in October a letter sent to him in February and a young woman has not yet replied and never will. Then we are free to confess that not being infallible there are several excellent designers whom we overlooked, no other word as ill express it, and there are one or two whom we did not know did commercial work but who do, at outrageous prices. Finally, several possible contributors disappeared, were found later in military camps and could no longer be interested.

A word may be said on the tone of some of the text pages. The poor artist always takes himself seriously. If I have not taken some of these tabloid biographies too seriously it may be only one way of indicating that I consider the subjects of them artists of the first rank.

If the book has any aim. it may be expressed in the hope that it will be found, as far as it goes, a record and a reminder of use to the American advertiser in his hour of need for the artist's hand and brain. May he be as discriminating and as generous in the future as he has been in the past!