The Prince of Wales and other famous Americans

THE PRINCE OF WALES AND OTHER FAMOUS AMERICANS
BY MIGUEL COVARRUBIAS WITH A PREFACE BY CARL VAN VECHTEN NEW YORK . ALFRED . A . KNOPF . MCMXXV
COPYRIGHT, 1925, BY ALFRED A. KNOPF, INC. SET UP AND PRINTED BY THE VAIL-BALLOU PRESS, INC., BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK PLATES ENGRAVED BY THE ÆTNA PHOTO-ENGRAVING COMPANY, NEW YORK PAPER MANUFACTURED BY THE TICONDEROGA PULP AND PAPER CO., TICONDEROGA, NEW YORK, AND FURNISHED BY W. F. ETHERINGTON & CO., NEW YORK BOUND BY H. WOLFF ESTATE, NEW YORK.
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
On September 12, 1923—as this was the birthday of both Alfred Knopf and Henry Mencken, I readily recall the date—my friend Sherrill Schell hailed me on the telephone to request me to examine some drawings by a Mexican boy who had recently arrived in New York. He has nothing to show editors but caricatures of Mexicans, unknown here. If you like his designs, I thought perhaps you might introduce him to some New York subjects. Now any person in public life is the object of at least one such appeal every week of his career, and it is usually a waste of time to listen to it. Usually, as a matter of fact, one does not listen. In this instance, however, whether by chance, or whether because Sherrill Schell had never before asked me to do anything for himself or anybody else, I bade him bring the young man to my apartment that afternoon at five.
Schell arrived at the appointed hour, accompanied by what appeared to be a youth just out of the adolescent stage, so shy, indeed, that he immediately began to bombard me with a volley of quite unrecognizable English. Nevertheless, I was able to pick out a few words, enough to gather that he had recently been stopping somewhere in Mexico with Witter Bynner and D. H. Lawrence. Why, I demanded, didn't you draw them? His abashment was complete: he confessed that he was unaware that these fellows were celebrated!
I gently tugged at the portfolio that Miguel Covarrubias hugged under his arm, which, in his modesty, he had not voluntarily relinquished, and proceeded to scan the contents. Although I found myself ignorant of the very names of the subjects, with the single exception of Ramon del Valle-Inclan (and I had no idea what he looked like), I was immediately convinced that I stood in the presence of an amazing talent, if not, indeed, genius. That afternoon he made the sketches for his caricature of me, delivered two days later, the first, I think, of this New York series. That afternoon, too, I began to use the telephone in his behalf, and for the next few days I made appointments for him to meet H. L. Mencken, Waldo Frank, Avery Hopwood, Eva Le Gallienne, and a great many others. I also introduced him to Ralph Barton who, with unselfish admiration for the rare gifts of this rival caricaturist, rendered him invaluable aid and encouragement. As soon as Covarrubias had drawn a few local faces I invited him to join me one day for lunch at the Algonquin where he was acclaimed at once, held, indeed, almost a reception. From that moment he was launched—as I knew he would be: one glance at his drawings sufficed to exhibit indelible proof of his prowess.