Looking for a Victor Fox photo or drawing...

[Yoc]

Yes, true enough John.
Mainly the point was Iger knew Fox and was still willing to risk him as a client at least once after being forced to take legal action against him for non payment.
We also are aware Fox was trying to target Eisner-Iger artists to work for him directly.

[David Lawrence]

So out of idle curiosity I decided to google the address...104 Radford Boulevard, Nottingham...from the Victor Fox birth record.

Much to my surprise, I came up with a newspaper clipping...from the Edinburgh Gazette for April 20, 1894...for a BANKRUPTCY for Fox Brothers, jewelers, trading at that address.

I'd wondered why on earth they pulled up stakes so quickly a second time after settling in England.  That seems likely to be part of the answer.

And, it appears, an apple did not fall so far from its tree in the case of Victor.

[Yoc]

Isn't that interesting?  Good thinking to check the address.
You're doing a great job tracking these things down.

[Drusilla lives!]

... I'm interested because of the lives and careers he touched.  He brought Joe Simon into the industry.  He brought in Jack.  He was the first client for Will Eisner.

One assumes they would have all found their way in anyway.  But not at the same time, not at the same place.

Certainly history would have been very different if Jack & Joe never partnered. ...

God does indeed work in mysterious ways.

[Roygbiv666]

I asked Roy Thomas (!) at TwoMorrows about it and he said:

"Hi Roy,

Thanks, but no... never seen or heard of a photo of publisher Victor Fox.

Roy T."

[Yoc]

I bet he'd love to share a photo if we were to dig one up.

[David Lawrence]

I've got to take a bit of a break from Mr. Fox while I work on a couple of scripts for an upcoming GN collection but after that is out of the way I'm going to work on the photo thing.  Not sure why...but it has become the mountain I have to climb.

[Yoc]

Sounds good David.  Good luck on the GN collections.
See you when you get back. 

[David Lawrence]

Still backed up a bit but came upon something I wanted to share.

Info from Fox's listing in Who's Who.  Most interesting is that we have here an exact date for his marriage and a handy listing of various Victor Fox corporate entities.  Among those entities
Renard Investments should ring a bell for those of us who have read Eisner's Dreamer.

I think this also helps put to rest the suggestion I've seen in a few places that Fox attended college...specifically Brown...for a year.  Surely he would have shared that info in this sort of publication.  Further, in the 1940 census (have I shared that?) Fox himself reported his highest completed education as a single year of high school.

Back to work!

[Yoc]

Thanks David!  Yes, that Renard name sure rings a bell... Key Industries is a new name to me.
And no, the 1940 census stuff hasn't been shared here yet AFAIK.

Thanks again for the info!

[David Lawrence]

Trying to post the 1940 census for Fox but the image file is too big.  Is there any way around that?

For the time being I'll share highlights of the info. 

Fox is on line 24, a little past halfway down.  In column 14 Fox indicates his education ended with one year of high school, which I think puts to rest the rumor that he attended a year at Brown.  Though I would not be at all surprised if it was Fox himself who started that story.

Column 32, his income...which would be interesting to know...instead of a number contains only the cryptic note "over."  Just guessing here, but since there are no numbers of more than four digits that may simply mean $10k or more.

[Yoc]

Thanks David!
You can always email it to me and I can post it here for you.
Just click on the envelope below my monkey avatar if you like.

[David Lawrence]

My earliest trace of the family Fox...1891 UK Census for Nottingham.  Also, just for the heck of it, an advertisement from the 1894 Nottingham Directory.  So far 1894 is my latest confirmed date for the family in the U.K.

With the birth Frances occurring in Russia in 1885 & the 1891 U.K census we narrow the date for migration from Russia to 1885 - 1891.

1898 is the first listing for Joseph Fox in the Fall River MA directory so that shortens the window for immigration to the U.S. to 1894 - 1898.  Joseph Fox in his citizenship papers (which I will scan when I get the chance) dates his arrival to August 1896 but as yet I haven't found ship manifest to confirm that.

P.S.  My friends think this Fox thing is a REALLY weird hobby!

[Yoc]

Very cool!
Thanks again David.  I love all the stuff you've found.
Tell your friends there are some out there just eating up everything you've unearthed!

I bet Roy Thomas would welcome a bio for Alter-Ego or perhaps an update to Comicartville's Fox article?
http://www.comicartville.com/victorfox.htm
It'd be a nice article on someone basically unknown beyond his reputation to most collectors.
Especially what he looked like!

[David Lawrence]

I'm planning of collating all this into an article when things lighten up a bit on this end.  As I said, I think I'll be able to find a photo but there will be a time lag for processing.

Plus I've got to wait until I figure out how much I owe Uncle Sam this April 15!

Here's some funny Fox errata...a World Astrology Magazine cover with a dire warning for us all, and a funny story from the Pittsburgh Press.  I think the Press story was reprinted from the Wall Street Journal.