Born in Boston, Bradley moved to Michigan in 1880 and served as a printer's apprentice, while still in his teens. He became familiar with advertising techniques and became an illustrator, working with pen and ink. His design in 1894 for the Chap-Book, a short-lived publication based in Chicago, "... was considered the first Art Nouveau poster in America and added to the wave of interest in poster collecting started by Edward Penfield's Harper's placards." (Margolin) The art nouveau movement will be discussed in more detail in a later article, but generally it represented a form of artistic expression that developed in the late 19th century and which was partly a reaction to rigid Victorian styles. Often elaborately decorative and ornamental, art nouveau designs were frequently very colorful and symbolic, too. Bradley's work became quite popular and gained widespread recognition.
He soon returned to Massachusetts and established a printing company, the Wayside Press, in 1895. He began to publish his own monthly magazine, entitled, simply, Bradley: His Book, and produced many posters over the next several years. Although Bradley spent less time after 1900 as a poster artist, he continued to be steadily active in the world of graphic arts for much of his long life, being primarily involved in illustration, commercial printing and writing. He also served for a time as an art director for Collier's magazine.
Bradley created many designs for the Chap-Book, as well as for his own magazine. In addition, he created posters for various products, including patent medicine, lithographic ink and bicycles. He also designed posters for other magazines and certain businesses.
In keeping with the art nouveau tradition, much of his work features ornamental designs with stylish figures, often enhanced by bold colors. A young woman is commonly the focus of the poster, but she is sometimes a static form, almost stiff, with little animation.
An 1896 design for his own magazine features a tall young woman, all in white, standing facing right virtually nose to nose with a peacock drawn to her full height, and in marked contrast with its intense purplish black and blue coloration. Bradley: His Book is printed in red at the top within a black border framing red bursts of color against a white background. A bit of brownish gold serves as additional background color for the poster.
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