Myron A. Root (May, 1857 - October 28, 1924) was a cartoonist, artist, printer, and stationer based in Denver, Colorado. Root was born in Ripon, Wisconsin, where he went to school and lived until about 1879, when he relocated to Denver, possibly following his brother, Irving S. Root. Root disappears for a few years, but by 1882 he was running a stationary shop, M. A. Root and Company, in Denver. M. A. Root and Company was dissolved in 1884 and reincorporated with a new partner, Albion D. Foster, as Root and Foster. They continued operating as such until about 1887 or 1888, when Root again appears to be publishing under his own imprint. Myron Root had closed his stationary business by 1898 to work with his brother, Irving S. Root, at a cigar store at 920 17th Street, Denver known as the 'Old Smoke House.' Reportedly a genius at blending, Root reinvented himself as 'The Tobacco Wizard.' Root eventually became an owner of this business, but it somehow by 1906 fell out of his ownership and was acquired by one Duncan L. Jacoway, who retained Root as an employee. Root appears to have been unfortunate enough to have multiple encounters with criminals - possibly underscoring the rough and tumble nature of Denver in the late 19th century. In 1876, after being knifed by a high school friend, he was involved (along with a detective named Faro) in the capture and incarceration of said friend, James Devanny, and his gang of robbers in Ripon, Wisconsin. One of them, upon release from prison in August of 1882, tracked Root to Denver in an attempted revenge assassination. Root was shot twice, but survived. Devanny made a second failed attempt on Root's life in 1904. In November, 1912 while running his cigar store, Root was shot again, this time by a burglar. In addition to his printing and tobacco business, a report in the Albuquerque Journal in 1882 notes that 'Myron A. Root is known in Colorado as a cleaver cartoonist.' Also, in his artistic capacity, in 1913 Root produced a 24 x 36 inch picture from human ashes depicting a young woman awakening from a coma. He called it 'The Awakening,' and somewhat morbidly advertised that he could make anyone's ashes into a portrait for a fee.



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