“The Fortunate Shipwreck (galley 29)” (1936)
by Norman Mills Price (1877-1951)
8.5 x 8.5 in., ink on board
Coppola Collection

The Fortunate Shipwreck was written by Gladys Blake, illustrated by Norman Mills Price, and published in 1936. A couple of the Price illustrations have surfaced, and this is one of them. On the back of the drawing it says:

“The Fortunate Shipwreck”

Caption – “I don’t think you are so very old, Grandmother, – Ummida is over a thousand. She told me so.” (galley 29)

By 1912, after a diverse and global art education, Price, a native of Ontario, was working in New York City as an illustrator. He was known and admired for the detailed historical research he would do for his drawings and paintings. He is thought to under-appreciated, in part, because he worked relatively slowly and meticulously, and this limited the volume of his output and his exposure. An honorary president of the Illustrator’s Society at the time of his death, he was certainly recognized by his peers.