Core77

In Part 1, I took a look at Hans Jenssen, a modern master of cutaway illustration. In this part, I'll spotlight two illustrators from the 1940's and 50's, back when cross-sections were the method of choice for explaining all of the war-era and post war-era technological innovations to the American public. This was the time of science and innovation, mass optimization and industrialization.

British artist L. Ashwell Wood's cross-sections of machines and factories initially appeared in Modern Wonder in 1937. He eventually drew center page cross-sections for the magazine through 1941. Apparently the British government even handed out Wood's illustrations as information leaflets during WWII!

In 1950, Wood began producing illustrations for the comic book Eagle, featuring Dan Dare, for its very first issue. Over the course of two decades, he produced hundreds of cutaways for the comic book, many of which were later collected into a series of books called Inside Information.

Where Wood dissected the inner workings of modern day machines for children and aspiring scientists, Frank Soltesz illustrated post-war industrialization for the masses. Through Batten, Barton, Durstine, & Osborn, a large advertising agency in Manhattan, Soltesz produced 29 cross-sections of factories utilizing the Armstrong Cork Co.'s products between 1947 and 1951. These illustrations appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, some even eventually making their way into encyclopedias.

Lastly, George Zaffo illustrated popular children's books in the 1950's on a whole variety of big trucks, fire engines, and airplanes. Zaffo was actually hired by my grandfather Charles Seliger, who was art director for Commercial Decal, a company that produced lenticular images and decorations for dishes.

Masters of the Cutaway
» Part 1: Hans Jenssen
» Part 2: Frank Soltesz and L. Ashell Wood
» Part 3: Yoshihiro Inomoto
» Part 4: Stephen Biesty
» Part 5: Graham Bleathman
» Part 6: Christopher & Matt Cushman
» Part 7: Richard Chasemore
» Part 8: The Das Brothers & Roger Stewart
» Part 9: Kevin Hulsey's and Steven Howard's Process