Thursday, August 25, 2016

Harry Ferman (1906-1973)

Newspaper Artist, Art Editor, Illustrator, Cartoonist, Poet, Writer of Letters
Born March 6, 1906, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Died April 28, 1973, Wichita, Kansas

So far, I have written about the following artists whose work was reprinted in the Bellerophon issues of Weird Tales in 1984-1985: Clare Angell (1874-1932?), Edd Cartier (1914-2008), Rodney M. Ruth (1912-1987), and Henry del Campo (1899-1961). The first three artists were not originally published in Weird Tales. Their drawings that appeared in the Bellerophon issues are from other sources. The last, Henry del Campo, was published in Weird Tales in 1939-1954, but little was known of him before I wrote an entry on him for this blog. There is more known of Harry Ferman, although I didn't have his dates when I wrote the introduction to this series. Once I have written about Harry Ferman, I'll go on to Boris Dolgov, but don't get your hopes up: less is known of him than of the enigmatic Nictzin Dyalhis.

Harry Elvis Ferman was born on March 6, 1906, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Elvis A. Ferman and Agnes "Aggie" Hannah Ferman. Ferman's father worked on the railroad. That might explain the presence of the Ferman family in Chapell, Nebraska, in the 1910 census. In 1920, they were in Buffalo, Iowa. Throughout the 1930s, '40s, and beyond, Harry Ferman and his family lived in Wichita, Kansas.

On September 25, 1929, at age twenty-three, Harry E. Ferman married Myrtle Gertude Volz, equally twenty-three years of age, in her native Elkhart, Iowa. He was by then living in Wichita, Kansas, and working as an artist. Like her husband, Myrtle Volz Ferman was an artist and poet. She was also a photographer, a sculptress, and a maker of wedding cakes. Author, teacher, Marine veteran, and "junkyard dog" David Daniel Ferman has written fond remembrances of his parents on his self-titled blog. I urge you to read about them by clicking here. (Update, March 21, 2023: Commenter Jean-Yves has let us know that the link is no longer active. See below. However, David Daniel Ferman's book 1938: Ghosts That I Have Known [2021] is now available for purchase. Mr. Ferman died on January 17, 2022, presumably in Texas. He was eighty-eight years old.)

From 1930 to 1961, Harry Ferman was an artist on the Wichita Beacon. He also contributed cartoons to sports magazines and later worked as a corporate artist for the Boeing Company. From the issues April 1939 to July 1942, Harry Ferman illustrated stories appearing in Weird Tales. His list of credits for that magazine is long, so instead of showing it here, I'll provide this link to the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Ferman also had one of his illustrations reprinted in Weird Tales for Winter 1985.

According to the University Libraries at Wichita State University, "Ferman became well known for his letter writing, especially for the sketches he would add to each one written. The recipients of these letters were known as 'Fermanites' and lived throughout the nation." The university has a small collection of those letters, written to Ferman's friend Ralph Finnell.

Harry E. Ferman died in Wichita, Kansas, on April 28, 1973, at age sixty-seven and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Wichita.

Harry Ferman's Illustrations in Weird Tales
See the Internet Speculative Fiction Database, here.

Further Reading
Look for links in the text above.

An illustration by Harry Ferman for "The Song of the Slaves" by Manly Wade Wellman, Weird Tales, March 1940.

Text copyright 2016, 2023 Terence E. Hanley

4 comments:

  1. a priori le fils Dave est mort en 2022, son site n'est plus disponible. On trouve son livre sur Amazon , ou il parle de sa rencontre avec le fantôme de son père ! et ou il y a un résumé de sa vie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bonjour, Jean-Yves,

      Using an online source, I have translated your comment as follows, with one phrase removed:

      "A priori [untranslated] the son Dave died in 2022, his site is no longer available. You can find his book [1938: Ghosts That I Have Known by David Daniel Ferman, 2021], where he talks about his encounter with his father's ghost! and where there is a summary of his life."

      I would like for everyone who reads, uses, and comments on this blog to understand that this is not a commercial website. I don't allow advertising or mention of commercial products or services on this blog. We all know how to find books on the Internet. We don't need instruction, nor do we need any mention of any book sellers. Remember that the book is the thing. The place where you buy it is not the thing.

      Thank you for writing.

      TH

      Delete
  2. no worries, no problem : just delete the name of the sales site: I do not promote anything or anyone, it was just a quick information, to say that this book is still available...
    realy not important , really nothing too bad
    Cordially
    ( web translation)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Jean-Yves,

      I would just like you to know that I wasn't singling out you or your comment. This has become a habit among us where we drop the names of commercial products and services in our everyday conversations. For some reason we have allowed ourselves to become free advertisements and promotions for these various companies. They don't need our help. They're all billionaires. They can afford to pay for their own advertisements and promotions.

      I would like to thank you again for your comment. I appreciate the information you provided. My blog is better for comments and information like yours. Please don't hesitate to comment again.

      I don't think I'm able to delete the name of the sales site without deleting your whole comment. It's okay, though. I'll let it stand.

      I receive your cordial comment and I reply with equal cordiality. Thank you again.

      TH

      Delete