Henry Rox Silver Gelatin Print "Tommy Apple" Frontispiece 1934/1940

Vintage silver gelatin photograph by Henry Rox (born Heinz Rosenberg, Berlin, March 18, 1899 – South Hadley, Massachusetts, July 14, 1967), depicting “Tommy Apple” the frontispiece image for Tommy Apple and His Adventures in Banana-Land, written by James Laver and first published in 1935 by Jonathan Cape Ltd., London (also Toronto). The photograph was made in 1934 and printed circa 1939. The recto bears the embossed copyright “© Henry Rox,” and the verso is stamped: “Copyright Henry Rox, 102 College Street, South Hadley, Mass.”

Rox was educated at the University of Berlin (1919–1923); the Charlottenburger Kunstgewerbeschule, Berlin (1921–1925); Académie Julian, Paris (1925–1927); and Académie Colarossi, Paris (1925–1928). Trained as both sculptor and teacher, his sculpture was exhibited widely in Europe, including Salon d’Automne, Paris; 1926 Juryfreie Kunstschau Berlin; 1929 Freie Kunstschau Berlin; 1930 Preussische Akademie der Künste, Berlin; 1929, 1931, 1932 Berliner Secession; January 1933 Gallery Paul Cassirer and Alfred Flechtheim, Berlin; The Royal Academy of Arts, London (1935, 1937, 1938); and The Royal Institute, Glasgow (1938).

Returning to Berlin from Paris as a Dadaist, Rox began in 1931 experimenting with what he termed “photo sculpture,” photographing sculptural characters constructed from fruits and vegetables. He attended the Berliner Fotoschule in 1933. With the rise of Nazism, Rox fled Germany with his wife Lotte in 1933 and relocated to London. There his highly stylized photographic practice attracted major commercial clients including Harrods, Guinness, De Bijenkorf, Vitrolite, Helene of London, and Dole. His work was featured editorially in Germany, England, France, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and Belgium.

Rox emigrated to the United States in 1938. American publications featuring his work include New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Life, Vogue, Mademoiselle, Town and Country, Harper’s Bazaar, McCall’s, and Christian Science Monitor. Corporate commissions included Shell Oil, Macy’s, and CBS Radio.

In 1940 he produced an animated short as part of the MGM motion picture Strike Up the Band, starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. In 1939 he joined Mount Holyoke College as Lecturer in Sculpture, promoted to Assistant Professor of Art in 1948, Professor of Art in 1954 (the same year he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship), named Mary Lyon Professor of Art in 1963, and Professor Emeritus upon retirement in 1964.

Henry Rox illustrated three children’s books: Tommy Apple and His Adventures in Banana-Land (1935), Tommy Apple and Peggy Pear (1936), and Banana Circus (1940). The present photograph depicts “Tom,” the defining frontispiece image to the 1935 first edition — serving as the formal introduction to Rox’s character and establishing the sculptural and narrative vocabulary that defined the series.

This photograph therefore occupies a central position within Rox’s “photo sculpture” practice — uniting European avant-garde training, Dada experimentation, commercial illustration, and academic career achievement into a single historically anchored image.

Medium: Silver gelatin print
Image size: 6 x 5 inches
Date: 1934 (printed circa 1939)

Condition: Vintage condition with minor age-appropriate handling and light surface wear; strong tonal range and clarity.