The Aerodrome Forum - View Single Post - Ltn Joeph Jacobs and the quest for the 2nd DEVIL image

van der Laan · 11 April 2009, 09:57 PM

Someone close to old JJ was quite the artist if not himself then possibly someone he met during the war or maybe even his wife Tatyana. When you browse through his stuff or that of the Jastas he was associated with all kinds of little sketches and drawings start popping up. While digging through Ferkos collection I ran across this little post card.

Now I have been trained in the graphic arts and am a software engineer with about 25 years of doing graphics, user interface and detailed development of graphics systems with transformation algorithms. This little card appears to be an intaglio print: a print made from an engraving, it’s a type of high quality printing for artistic purposes. In this case, done on a high quality Arches paper in black ink. The color was added later and by someone who knew exactly how to get the effect of rough wool for the sweater: in a curious mix a greens and blues to affect the olive drab.

This card was a personal note to Ed Ferko from JJ. I believe it was one of many JJ must have had made and then he, his wife or some unknown artist hand tinted these and sent them off to friends and acquaintance. It may seem insignificant but in the quest for the second image of the “flying devil” or the “fire spitting witch” as JJ sometimes referred to his badge, knowing just where all this little sketches are coming form could be important. In the Jasta 7 box of the Ferko collection there is a little envelope just full of these little things and they are all individually colored by someone with a passion for art.

Here is another found in his diary kept at the Vintage Aero Flying Museum just outside Denver Colorado.

Now it may seem insignificant but I reason that all these little artistic images of old JJ, which are deadly accurate, could not have been done 50 years later when he needed them to remind people of just who he was. #1. His facial features match exactly his features back when he was a pilot in Jasta 7. #2 The artifacts of his gear, his uniform, his flieger helmet are all dead on. #3 the color schemes are right on, in fact there are almost no mistakes at all. It’s as if the artist was an EYE WITNESS…… and maybe just maybe he was.

If you photo-enhance each of these little tid bits you find that the artist signature is always the same no matter whose collection you found the sketch with in.

I cannot for the life of me read this person’s name. Can anyone help? You can tell from the dates, they were completed just after the war. If you wanted someone to accurately portray your image you would probably have contacted someone who was there and anyone who could have drawn this well and was there…….well who would you have had paint your fuselage while flight leader?

What will you bet, that this artist is the very artist that originated the “Devil” image for Jasta 7 450/17 ?

11 April 2009, 09:57 PM	#9 (permalink)
van der Laan Two-seater Pilot Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 161	Someone close to old JJ was quite the artist if not himself then possibly someone he met during the war or maybe even his wife Tatyana. When you browse through his stuff or that of the Jastas he was associated with all kinds of little sketches and drawings start popping up. While digging through Ferkos collection I ran across this little post card. Now I have been trained in the graphic arts and am a software engineer with about 25 years of doing graphics, user interface and detailed development of graphics systems with transformation algorithms. This little card appears to be an intaglio print: a print made from an engraving, it’s a type of high quality printing for artistic purposes. In this case, done on a high quality Arches paper in black ink. The color was added later and by someone who knew exactly how to get the effect of rough wool for the sweater: in a curious mix a greens and blues to affect the olive drab. This card was a personal note to Ed Ferko from JJ. I believe it was one of many JJ must have had made and then he, his wife or some unknown artist hand tinted these and sent them off to friends and acquaintance. It may seem insignificant but in the quest for the second image of the “flying devil” or the “fire spitting witch” as JJ sometimes referred to his badge, knowing just where all this little sketches are coming form could be important. In the Jasta 7 box of the Ferko collection there is a little envelope just full of these little things and they are all individually colored by someone with a passion for art. Here is another found in his diary kept at the Vintage Aero Flying Museum just outside Denver Colorado. Now it may seem insignificant but I reason that all these little artistic images of old JJ, which are deadly accurate, could not have been done 50 years later when he needed them to remind people of just who he was. #1. His facial features match exactly his features back when he was a pilot in Jasta 7. #2 The artifacts of his gear, his uniform, his flieger helmet are all dead on. #3 the color schemes are right on, in fact there are almost no mistakes at all. It’s as if the artist was an EYE WITNESS…… and maybe just maybe he was. If you photo-enhance each of these little tid bits you find that the artist signature is always the same no matter whose collection you found the sketch with in. I cannot for the life of me read this person’s name. Can anyone help? You can tell from the dates, they were completed just after the war. If you wanted someone to accurately portray your image you would probably have contacted someone who was there and anyone who could have drawn this well and was there…….well who would you have had paint your fuselage while flight leader? What will you bet, that this artist is the very artist that originated the “Devil” image for Jasta 7 450/17 ?