“I remained in the store for a few months, and then went to work
on the weekly paper, and acted the part of a ‘printer’s devil.’
Afterward, I set type. In about a year, the idea firmly possessed me
that I could draw, and I decided that it was best to go to New York.
But my self-esteem was not so great as to rate myself a full-fledged
artist. My idea was to obtain a position as a compositor in New York,
to draw between times, and gradually to land myself where my hopes
all centered. So my disappointment was great when, on arriving in
the city, I discovered that, to become a compositor, I must serve
an apprenticeship of three years. I was in New York, in an artistic
environment, and had burned my bridges; accordingly I looked for a
place, and obtained one in a store. One of my duties there was to make
window cards, to advertise the whole line, or a particular lot of
goods. I decorated them in my best fashion.”