Sketches by Whitman Bailey

Thanks to the work of our library volunteers, the sketches by Whitman Bailey have been collated and scanned and are available for viewing at the computer in the Marcus Research Library.  They are in a searchable database, sorted by town and street. ¹

Complete Newspaper Clipping of February 19, 1944 (PDF file)

Mr. Bailey's sketches appeared, beginning in 1924 and continuing for the next thirty years, almost weekly in.  Black and white drawings of local scenes, the sketches were accompanied by brief vignettes of the scene.

Whitman Bailey was one of the few nationally recognized artists in his genre. His simple illustrations of scenes that no longer exist in Stamford, Greenwich and other locales, are in many instances the only remaining record of these places. We owe him and his pen a considerable debt of gratitude.

From time to time, we will showcase selected sketches on this blog.

¹ A warning: At times, the accompanying vignettes are mostly folklore passed on to Mr. Bailey by residents of the areas where he was sketching.  In those instances he had no way of determining the truth of the story.  Nor have we.  It is presented as a sidelight to the sketch.  Therefore, researchers are cautioned to regard these tales as local color, interesting, thought provoking, but sometimes not entirely factual.

(Reference file Bailey111.pdf)
Whitman Bailey Sketches