John Held Jr.

John James Held Jr. was born on January 10, 1889, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and died on March 2, 1958. He is best remembered as the defining visual chronicler of the Jazz Age, whose stylized cartoons of flappers, dancers, and sports enthusiasts came to symbolize the 1920s. Raised in an artistic household, Held sold his first pieces of art at age nine and left high school to focus on his craft, working as a sports illustrator for *The Salt Lake Tribune* in his late teens. His friendship with Harold Ross, founder of *The New Yorker*, opened doors to major publications, and his work appeared in *Vanity Fair*, *Harper's Bazaar*, *Life*, and *Judge*. Held’s distinctive line work and satirical yet affectionate eye captured the era’s shifting social mores, influencing fashion and behavior even as he mocked them. Though primarily a magazine illustrator, his art appeared in comic-adjacent collections such as *Tarzan in Color* and *Nemo: The Classic Comics Library*. His legacy endures as the visual shorthand for the Roaring Twenties, and his work remains a touchstone for cartoonists and illustrators.