M. Coburn Whitmore, known as "Coby," described his three primary interests as "racing cars, illustrating and smart clothes on good-looking women. The racing cars were a hobby, but he was thoroughly professional in his illustrations of beautiful women. Probably no other illustrator has been so inventive over so long a time in doing variations on the theme of "boy meets girl".

Coby was born in Dayton, Ohio and attended the Dayton Art Institute there. Next, he went to Chicago as an apprentice in the studio of Haddon Sundblom and Edwin Henry, and took night classes at the Chicago Art Institute.

Following his apprenticeship, he worked for the Chicago Herald Examiner and the Charles Jensen studio in Cincinnati, ...