A spot with a strong connection to the Hamilton County group of illustrators is the former site of the Noblesville High School (NHS) building at 1448 Conner Street. It was attended by George Brehm, who graduated in the 1898 class, Worth Brehm and Thomas Stanley in the 1902 class, and Hanson Booth in the 1907 class.
\nThomas B. Stanley (1884-1965)
Thomas B. Stanley was born in Noblesville, where his father ran the telegraph office. At NHS, among other things, he was business manager of the school magazine in 1901. Although there are references to his artwork in the magazine, there are no actual illustrations by him. Stanley attended Herron Art Institute in 1902. From 1906 to 1908, he was listed in the Noblesville city directory as an illustrator.
After 1908, Stanley earned a B.A. and an M.A. in English and then was hired by New York University (NYU) in 1916 to teach Business English. By 1940, Business English had become Marketing. Eventually, Stanley became a Professor Emeritus of Marketing at NYU. He wrote two books on the subject – A Manual of Advertising Typography (1935), and Techniques of Advertising Production (1940).
\nThroughout his career, he kept his hand in the art world. In 1920, he created a business-oriented cartoon series for the magazine Advertising and Selling. It ran weekly from March to November and the public reaction was enthusiastic. Businessmen wrote to the magazine asking for copies of the strip to post in the office and send to their employees. The reaction was similar to the modern comic strip Dilbert.
\nHanson Booth (1886-1944)
Hanson Booth was born on the family farm in Wayne Township and was the brother of a more famous artist, Franklin Booth. The Noblesville High School Annual is where Hanson’s artwork first appeared. He did caricatures of his classmates and teachers very much in the style of the era. His art was used for the cover for several years.
Hanson Booth served overseas after the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917. He was honorably discharged in July 1919 as a Second Lieutenant. He was the only one of the Hamilton County School of illustrators to have served in World War I.
Like his brother Franklin, Hanson would go on to become a successful professional artist in New York. He did illustrations for books and for a variety of magazines, including Boy’s Life, Harper’s, and Popular Science.
","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":[],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/81040ac867a8eeafeaf93c6bf5dbe663.jpg":{"id":2156,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Site of Old Noblesville High School","description":"This building, which replaced the school, was used as the Boys and Girls Club for many years and is now a private business. | Image courtesy of photographer | 2020 | Hamilton East Public Library","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/81040ac867a8eeafeaf93c6bf5dbe663.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/b1c0eee010c24a302ea0667508ede36e.jpg":{"id":2157,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Old Noblesville High School","description":"This building was constructed in 1900 and demolished in 1969. The gymnasium next door, built in 1924, is the only part of the school still standing in 2020. | Courtesy of Hamilton East Public Library, Roberts Collection | ca 1900s","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/b1c0eee010c24a302ea0667508ede36e.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/a66c0e752f4d912bc39fe4b39a0cae69.jpg":{"id":2158,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Thomas Stanley","description":"Thomas Stanley attended Noblesville High School in the late 1890s and early 1900s. He later moved to New York City, where he taught marketing at New York University and eventually created a cartoon series. This photograph of him was published in the NYU yearbook. | 1950 New York University Yearbook | 1950","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/a66c0e752f4d912bc39fe4b39a0cae69.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/0efca75446a5197d2ba43e18810e8898.jpg":{"id":2159,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Thomas Stanley Cartoon, "Advertising Man"","description":"This cartoon strip was drawn by Thomas Stanley for the magazine Advertising and Selling in 1920. The different versions of “How the Advertising Man Looks to Some Persons” has some similarities to the visual jokes in the “What People Think I Do/What I Actually Do” meme that was popularized around 2012.
| Advertising and Selling magazine, June 26, 1920, p. 8, digitized by Google Books | 1920 | Thomas Stanley","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/0efca75446a5197d2ba43e18810e8898.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/de771d87024c229fa72ebb9d7316e01f.jpg":{"id":2160,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Thomas Stanley Cartoon, "If Noah Was an Advertising Man"","description":"This cartoon strip, “If Noah Had Been an Advertising Man” was drawn by Thomas Stanley for the magazine Advertising and Selling in 1920. | Advertising and Selling magazine, May 22, 1920, p. 6, digitized by Google Books | 1920 | Thomas Stanley","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/de771d87024c229fa72ebb9d7316e01f.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/6d4e12ddf0d4cbaf481f14d2be09858b.jpg":{"id":2161,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Hanson Booth","description":"Hanson Booth attended Noblesville High School in the early 1900s. This photograph of him was published in the American Club Woman in December 1914. It illustrates a short article titled “Developing Talent” which talks about his thoughts on creating a career as an artist. | American Club Woman, December 1914, p. 106, digitized by Google Books | 1914","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/6d4e12ddf0d4cbaf481f14d2be09858b.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/9cc9740195988b338a782935e96f57a2.jpg":{"id":2162,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Noblesville High School Annual","description":"These caricatures by Hanson Booth were published in the 1905 Noblesville High School Annual. The Annual was the first place Booth published his illustrations. | Courtesy of Hamilton East Public Library | 1905 | Noblesville High School Annual","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/9cc9740195988b338a782935e96f57a2.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/6a5cf74a91d90aaca8e1bbe4103e4d53.jpg":{"id":2163,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Boys' Life Cover","description":"This cover illustration that Hanson Booth did for the magazine Boys' Life was published in November 1914, as World War I was ramping up in Europe. | Boys' Life, November 1914 cover, digitized by Google Books | 1914 | Hanson Booth","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/6a5cf74a91d90aaca8e1bbe4103e4d53.jpg"}}}