“Fourth of July Picnic” by J.C. Leyendecker (1915)

Joseph Christian Leyendecker was born in a tiny village on the Rhine in 1874. His brother, Frank X. Leyendecker came along three years later. Frank, who also became an artist, did 15 Saturday Evening Post covers.

The family immigrated to Chicago in 1882. Joe was able to devote himself to art full time at age 16, although the family, which was lower middle class, could barely afford the luxury of art instruction for their sons.

The hottest day of the year is not deterring this corpulent couple from attending the local parade in this 1915 cover. By the way, mom and pop might want to keep an eye on Junior — those are firecrackers he’s hiding.