This lovely cover is by the hand of Helen Van Doorn-Morgan. We couldn’t find much about this illustrator: she was born in 1902 (Springfield, Ohio) and lived until 1986. Her nice designs for sheet music were almost exclusively for Forster Music Publisher (Chicago).
With her highly stylised covers Van Doorn-Morgan is a forerunner of American Art Deco in sheet music during the Thirties, as seen in the work of Ben Harris and his wife Georgette (‘Jorj‘). This style appeared in America a few years later than its European precursor (which strictly made its debut with the 1925 Exposition internationale des Arts décoratifs et industriels modernes in Paris). Perhaps this time lag partly explains why the American Deco sheet music covers are mostly nice and pleasantly decorative. Often, European Art Deco music illustrations are more dynamic and forceful, but also frivolous and lively. See for yourself in our various Art Deco illustrated sheet music…
We wish you a nice and pleasant Sunday!
I have this sheet music in a simple black frame. I absolutely love it! I purchased it at a garage sale (with a few others). I was so pleased to see your post!