Jefferson Machamer

Jefferson Machamer, born Thomas Jefferson Machamer in 1900, was an American cartoonist and illustrator whose signature specialty was drawing glamorous, stylish women. He passed away on August 15, 1960. Machamer entered the field in the 1920s, with his work appearing in humor and general-interest magazines like *Judge* and *Breezy*, and later for comic-book publishers including Columbia Comics and the anthology *Joker*. His clean, confident line work and flair for fashion made his "Machamer girls" instantly recognizable and widely imitated. Beyond the page, he briefly ventured into film, writing and acting in a series of short comedies during the 1930s. In the 1940s and 1950s, he contributed to Walter T. Foster's "How to Draw" instructional books, passing on his techniques to a new generation. Machamer's career spanned over three decades, from 1924 to 1957, and he is remembered as a deft craftsman of the flapper-era pin-up and a key figure in the visual language of mid-century American cartooning.