Ink on paper. Featuring a black and white portrait of a magician. Signed Phil Davis (1906-1964, American) on the lower left corner. Dated 1940 on verso. 14 x 15 cm (5.5 x 5.9 inches). PROVENANCE: Southern Ontario estate

Philip Davis (1906-1964) was an American artist who illustrated Mandrake the Magician, written by Lee Falk. While attending Washington University in St. Louis, Davis had a part-time job as a draftsman with the technical department of the local telephone company. By 1928, he was working in the art department of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He left the newspaper to do magazine illustrations and advertising art. In 1933, Davis met St. Louis advertising agency executive Lee Falk, and the two began their collaboration on Mandrake the Magician. Falk asked Davis to do a dozen panels on spec. Davis did so, and in 1934 Falk went to New York and pitched the concept to King Features Syndicate. The strip was launched June 11, 1934 with Davis illustrating and Falk scripting.[3] One of Davis' assistants was Ray Moore, who later became the first artist on Falk's other comic strip, The Phantom, also distributed by King Features.

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American, 19th century : This work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).