In 1887, Charles Dana Gibson – then twenty years of age – began a long-term contract with “Life”. As a young man, Gibson “dipped his pen in the cosmic urge and tried to draw a girl so alluring that other young men would want to climb into the picture and sit beside her.” By the time of the 1890s the Gibson girl was well established, and she was a front-runner for twenty years. In 1903, Gibson signed a hundred thousand dollar contract with “Collier’s” (1886-1957) to render a series of double-page “cartoons” over four years’ time. “The Gibson Girl was not simply a model but represented a way of life.”