Friday, January 27, 2012
Ink-Slinger Profiles: Hal Forrest
Harry Paul "Hal" Forrest was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 22, 1892, according to his World War I draft card. The California Death Index at Ancestry.com said his birth year was 1893, and a Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), August 30, 1935 profile, said the birth year was 1895.
In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, he was the youngest of three children born to William and Annie. They lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 1912 Sterner Street. The census said he was born "July 1892". His father was an insurance agent.
Ten years later, the Forrests were in Philadelphia at 3501 Water Street. It's not clear what his occupation was. The Spokesman-Review said, "From 1911 to 1915 Forrest attended the Art Institute of Chicago. He became a member of the art staff of the Chicago Tribune and then joined troop A, First Illinois cavalry. During 1915 to 1917 he was a member of the headquarters troop, third New Jersey in infantry…." He signed his World War I draft card in April 1917. His home address was in Clementon, New Jersey. His occupation was student at Fort Myers Camp in Fort Myers, Virginia. He was described as tall, medium build, with brown eyes and dark hair.
He has not been found in the 1920 census. His father, a widower, lived in Clementon, New Jersey. The Nevada State Journal published Forrest's United Press International obituary, on November 26, 1959, which said, "…[Forrest was] an editor of the Culver City, Calif., News in the early 20s…." In the late 1920s, he created Artie the Ace, the forerunner to Tailspin Tommy.
The 1930 census recorded Forrest in Los Angeles, California at 3135 Durango. According to the census, he married Charlotte around 1925, and their daughter, Elizabeth, was born in early 1927. He was a newspaper artist. An August 5, 1934 passenger list, At Ancestry.com, recorded their address as 9018 Olive Street, Los Angeles.
The Aberdeen American News (South Dakota) said on November 25, 1959, "…in 1952…Tailspin Tommy…became the basis for a television series, a radio program and several books…."
Ten years later, the Forrests were in Philadelphia at 3501 Water Street. It's not clear what his occupation was. The Spokesman-Review said, "From 1911 to 1915 Forrest attended the Art Institute of Chicago. He became a member of the art staff of the Chicago Tribune and then joined troop A, First Illinois cavalry. During 1915 to 1917 he was a member of the headquarters troop, third New Jersey in infantry…." He signed his World War I draft card in April 1917. His home address was in Clementon, New Jersey. His occupation was student at Fort Myers Camp in Fort Myers, Virginia. He was described as tall, medium build, with brown eyes and dark hair.
He has not been found in the 1920 census. His father, a widower, lived in Clementon, New Jersey. The Nevada State Journal published Forrest's United Press International obituary, on November 26, 1959, which said, "…[Forrest was] an editor of the Culver City, Calif., News in the early 20s…." In the late 1920s, he created Artie the Ace, the forerunner to Tailspin Tommy.
The Aberdeen American News (South Dakota) said on November 25, 1959, "…in 1952…Tailspin Tommy…became the basis for a television series, a radio program and several books…."
Forrest passed away November 23, 1959, in Culver City, California, according to the Associated Press report in the Springfield Union (Massachusetts), November 25. However, the California Death Index has the date as November 21. Samples of his original art are at Heritage Auctions.
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Obscurity of the Day: Willie
According to an otherwise pretty reliable sounding website about Tailspin Tommy and its creator, Forrest's first pro work was at the Philadelphia Telegraph in 1911, a strip called Percy the Boy Scout. I haven't indexed the 1911 Telegraph, but I'm a bit skeptical of that claim, especially since the author says next "he collaborated with Lee Pape, author of Little Benny's Notebook, on a Sunday page of colored comics in the Philadelphia Record." This was supposedly sometime in 1915-17, but that paper I have indexed and I say it didn't happen. There is, however, Willie, which wasn't mentioned.
Labels: Obscurities
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Ink-Slinger Profiles: William Steinigans
William John Steinigans was born in Connecticut on February 15, 1878, according to Artists in California, 1786-1940 (2002); the source of that date is not stated. He has not been found in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census. He attended Meriden High School in Meriden, Connecticut. He was in the class of 1898 (see photo); an excerpt from the 1898 annual:
Our "Little Willie," or rather William John Steinigans is the sport of the class. In one sense he is always well informed as to the occurrences in the athletic world; on the other hand his sportive wit and grotesque actions causes much mirth and (trouble.) Willie, "Let not thy mirth turn to mischief," so goes the proverb. On one occasion Willie was asked why he did not recite. He replied "I hain't got no book." At other times he would often answer "Because."
In the 1900 census, he was the youngest of two children born to John and Emily, both German emigrants. They lived in Meriden, Connecticut at 880 Broad Street. His father was a knife maker. Steinigans birth date was "Feb 1879" and his occupation was "Type Writer". He was listed as a clerk in the Meriden, Connecticut, City Directory, 1901. The date of his move to New York City is not known. He was on the staff of the New York World which published his strip, The Dream That Made Bill a Better Boy, starting in August 1905. He and George McManus were instructors, in comic art, at the School of Practical Illustrating; an advertisement for its summer school appeared in International Studio, May 1907.
And he instructed at the National School of Art, 2228 Broadway, according to an advertisement in the New York Herald, January 12, 1908. He and Vet Anderson handled the evening comics and cartooning class.
In the 1910 census, he was recorded in Manhattan, New York City at 320 West 96 Street. He married Martha around June 1909 and was a newspaper artist. HIs strip Grimes's Goat ran in the World beginning November 1911. Around 1913, he moved west. In the book, This Way to the Big Show: The Life of Dexter Fellows (1936), Fellows recalled carousing with his cartoonist friends:
…[George] McManus, who boasted that they kept him on the World, his first New York paper, because Joseph Pulitzer, who was then blind, could not see his drawings; Tom Powers, whose cartoons and barblike quips will be remembered by thousands; Bill Steinigans, who drew dog pictures for the World; and I were the four horsemen of Park Row. We rode, for the most part, in search of drink, food, and pleasure and invariably found them all. The little group was broken up in more ways than one when doctors presented Steinie with an ultimatum which gave him a year to live in New York or three years in the West. Steinie elected to go to Banning, in Southern California. Although he lived for five years, it seems to me that he would have been much happier with a shorter stay on this earth spent in New York. In Banning and later in Tucson, Arizona, he was among strangers, people who were not his kind, with nothing to see but cacti and desert.
Steinigans also spent time in Palm Springs, about twenty-two miles southeast of Banning. The Riverside Enterprise (California) named him and others in its February 8, 1920 article, "Palm Springs Has Lure for Tourists".
…Lovely indeed is the Palm Springs of today—and yet this some pilgrim cannot but regret the passing of the picturesque, ramshackle little collection of huts and shacks beloved by the colony of former days, which included Edwin Salisbury Field; Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson, wife of the famous author; Robert V. Carr, another writer; "Jimmie" Swinnerton, well known Hearst cartoonist; George Herriman, creator of "Dinny Dingbat" and "Krazy Kat"; William Steinigans, New York World comic man; and others noted for their creative talents.
Lost—Mexican poodle dog. Color, yellow and white, spotted, long hair, weighs between 5 and 6 pounds. Answers to the name Japeno. Liberal reward if returned to Mrs. Wm. J. Steinigans, Santa Rita St. Box 114.
William J. Steinigans, comic artist on the staff of the Sunday World, died at Los Angeles, Cal., Friday, January 25.
Mr. Steinigans was a member of the World staff for about sixteen years, most of that time on the Sunday comic supplement. He was the creator of "The Bad Dream That Made Bill a Better Boy," "Splinters," "Mr. Hubby" and other comic series. He was famous particularly for his funny pictures of dogs, which figured in every series that he drew.
About five years ago, Mr. Steinigans went to California for his health, and with the exception of some time spent in Arizona, he remained there until the end. He is survived by a widow.
The Daily Citizen printed a series of legal notices, regarding Steinigans' will.
S.A. Elrod
In the 1910 census, he was recorded in Manhattan, New York City at 320 West 96 Street. He married Martha around June 1909 and was a newspaper artist. HIs strip Grimes's Goat ran in the World beginning November 1911. Around 1913, he moved west. In the book, This Way to the Big Show: The Life of Dexter Fellows (1936), Fellows recalled carousing with his cartoonist friends:
…[George] McManus, who boasted that they kept him on the World, his first New York paper, because Joseph Pulitzer, who was then blind, could not see his drawings; Tom Powers, whose cartoons and barblike quips will be remembered by thousands; Bill Steinigans, who drew dog pictures for the World; and I were the four horsemen of Park Row. We rode, for the most part, in search of drink, food, and pleasure and invariably found them all. The little group was broken up in more ways than one when doctors presented Steinie with an ultimatum which gave him a year to live in New York or three years in the West. Steinie elected to go to Banning, in Southern California. Although he lived for five years, it seems to me that he would have been much happier with a shorter stay on this earth spent in New York. In Banning and later in Tucson, Arizona, he was among strangers, people who were not his kind, with nothing to see but cacti and desert.
…Lovely indeed is the Palm Springs of today—and yet this some pilgrim cannot but regret the passing of the picturesque, ramshackle little collection of huts and shacks beloved by the colony of former days, which included Edwin Salisbury Field; Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson, wife of the famous author; Robert V. Carr, another writer; "Jimmie" Swinnerton, well known Hearst cartoonist; George Herriman, creator of "Dinny Dingbat" and "Krazy Kat"; William Steinigans, New York World comic man; and others noted for their creative talents.
He was in Tucson in 1917. At Ancestry.com, the U.S. IRS Tax Assessment List 1917 recorded his name for the 1916 tax year. He was in Tucson when he filed his 1040 form and owed twelve dollars. His wife put an ad in the Tucson Daily Citizen on March 27, 1917.
Lost—Mexican poodle dog. Color, yellow and white, spotted, long hair, weighs between 5 and 6 pounds. Answers to the name Japeno. Liberal reward if returned to Mrs. Wm. J. Steinigans, Santa Rita St. Box 114.
Steinigans passed away January 25, 1918, in Los Angeles. Cartoons Magazine, in its March 1918 issue, gave a brief account of his life.
William J. Steinigans, comic artist on the staff of the Sunday World, died at Los Angeles, Cal., Friday, January 25.
Mr. Steinigans was a member of the World staff for about sixteen years, most of that time on the Sunday comic supplement. He was the creator of "The Bad Dream That Made Bill a Better Boy," "Splinters," "Mr. Hubby" and other comic series. He was famous particularly for his funny pictures of dogs, which figured in every series that he drew.
About five years ago, Mr. Steinigans went to California for his health, and with the exception of some time spent in Arizona, he remained there until the end. He is survived by a widow.
The Fourth Estate, 2/2/1918
The Daily Citizen printed a series of legal notices, regarding Steinigans' will.
Notice of Hearing Petition
In the superior court of Pima county, state of Arizona.
In the matter of the estate of William J. Steinigans, deceased.
Notice is hereby given that Southern Arizona Bank and Trust company, a corporation, has filed in this court a certain document purporting to be the last will and testament of William J. Steinigans together with his petition praying that said document be admitted to probate in this court as the last will and testament of said William J. Steingans who, said petitioner alleges, is deceased, and that letters testamentary issue thereon to said petitioner, and that same be heard on Tuesday the 26th day of March, A.D., 1918, at 9:30 o'clock in the forenoon of said day, at the court room of said court, in the court house, in the city of Tucson, county of Pima, state of Arizona, and all persons interested in said estate are notified then and there to appear and show cause, if any they have, why the prayer of said petitioner shoal not be granted.
S.A. Elrod
Clerk.
By M.S. Brown, Deputy Clerk.
Dated March 14, 1918.
First pub, Mar. 15, 1918.
Last pub, Mar. 27, 1918.
Legal Notices
Notice to Creditors
In the Superior Court Pima county, State of Arizona
In the matter of the estate of William J. Steinigans.
Notice is hereby given by the undersigned executor of the estate of William J. Steinigans deceased, to the creditors of and all persons having claims against the said deceased, to exhibit such claims, with the necessary vouchers, within them months after the first publication of this notice to the said executor, 36 North Stone Avenue, which said place the undersign selects as its place of business in all matters connected with said estate of William J. Steingians.
Southern Arizona Bank & Trust Company.
Executor of the Estate of William J. Steinigans.
April 4, 11, 18, 25
According to the Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index at Ancestry.com, Steinigans was born in 1879, and buried at the Walnut Grove Cemetery in Meriden, Connecticut. Steinigans was in Los Angeles when he died. The address of where he lived, at the time, is not known but there are two possibilities to consider. His wife was recorded in the Los Angeles City Directory, 1920 at "1321 N Serrano", and in the 1920 census at 1404 Serrano Avenue.
According to the Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index at Ancestry.com, Steinigans was born in 1879, and buried at the Walnut Grove Cemetery in Meriden, Connecticut. Steinigans was in Los Angeles when he died. The address of where he lived, at the time, is not known but there are two possibilities to consider. His wife was recorded in the Los Angeles City Directory, 1920 at "1321 N Serrano", and in the 1920 census at 1404 Serrano Avenue.
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Obscurity of the Day: Mister Hubby
Mister Hubby was his last new strip creation for the World, and also the last to end. It started on September 1 1912 and ended December 17 1916. It is not a fitting coda for Steinigans, who obviously preferred penning his dog strips. In fact Mister Hubby is quite bland, to the point where the title couldn't be much more generic.
According to reports on the web, Steinigans died in 1918 at the age of forty, less than a year after Mister Hubby ended.
Labels: Obscurities
Monday, January 23, 2012
Obscurity of the Day: Curious Avenue
Tom Toles' Curious Avenue, distributed by Universal Press Syndicate, debuted on April 19 1992 to a lukewarm reception. I'm betting that feature editors who liked Toles' political cartoons grabbed the strip on reputation alone, while others wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. The strip, however, was completely apolitical. It featured a cast of rather goofy tykes who sport a host of neuroses. They generally act like kids, but they can express themselves like adults. So yeah, somewhat like Peanuts, but with an edgier and overtly darker sensibility. The strip tended to be a bit on the violent side, with physical encounters between the kids a pretty commonplace occurrence, and sarcasm was as rampant in the strip as in Toles' editorial cartoons.
I found the strip intriguing and the drawing style attractive. I rather liked it, although I did feel it suffered for a lack of likeable characters . Apparently I was in the minority for liking the strip because it went belly-up in less than two years; the latest I've found it running is December 31 1994. I imagine Toles pulled the plug, seeing that it wasn't going to be a major income-producer.
If the samples intrigue you, look for an Andrews-McMeel reprint collection of the strip issued in 1993; it's on the scarce side, but not particularly expensive.
Labels: Obscurities
Comments:
I have about a year of tearsheets from them, which I will show at my blog at some point. I like Toles, but I was mostly disappointed graphically. after about ten, they all start to feel the same. I was a much bigger fan of Jack Ohman's venture into comic strip land.
I'm also a big fan of Toles' editorial cartooning, and I do remember this strip when it came out. I would have liked to see it run a bit longer......Allan, on another completely different topic, does the "Fort Mudge Most" run any longer? I've come across a few older issues at bookstores, but there is no answer from the website itself...thanks...
# posted by 
: 1/26/2012 12:06 PM
: 1/26/2012 12:06 PM
I've always wondered about the strip. Thanks for reproducing some samples!
Toles did another comic, Randolph Itch 2AM. I have a tearsheet of that somewhere...
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Toles did another comic, Randolph Itch 2AM. I have a tearsheet of that somewhere...
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Jim Ivey's Sunday Comics
Comments:
Isn't the passage of time crazy? Jim writes of going to St. Pete in the 50's and I wasn't even born then. Jim was in his 30's then... and now 30 seems young or at least youngish. LOL.
Keep the stories coming, Jim... you old Rambler, you.
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Keep the stories coming, Jim... you old Rambler, you.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Herriman Saturday
Labels: Herriman's LA Examiner Cartoons
Friday, January 20, 2012
Ink-Slinger Profiles: Harris Brown
Brown's parents were counted in the 1900 census but he was not. They were farmers in Bristol, Pennsylvania. The local newspaper, The Bucks County Gazette, reported on several events involving Brown. On September 14, 1905, he and Mrs. Stackhouse had organized a lawn party on his father's property. On November 30, 1905, "a freedom party was given to Harris H. Brown at his uncle's residence, by Mrs. Frank P. Warrington, Mrs. William K. Stackhouse and Mrs. Henry C. Brown." Another party honoring his twenty-first birthday was reported on December 8, 1905. The Gazette noted the start of his cartooning career, at the Philadelphia Record, on November 30, 1906:
Harris H. Brown, formerly of this section, has associated himself with the Philadelphia Daily Record and is running a series of comic drawings in the Sunday issue of that paper.
For the Record he created the comic strip, The Adventures of Willie Green, which ran from 1906 to 1928 (with several long gaps).
The 1910 census recorded Brown in Philadelphia, boarding at 733 North 20th Street. He was an artist doing newspaper work. His parents were still farming in Bristol. He copyrighted Adventures of Willie Green, Book No. 1 on March 26, 1915, according to the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 1, Group 2: Pamphlets, Leaflets, etc. 1915, New Series, Volume 12, Number 4. He signed his World War I draft card on September 12, 1918. His occupation was farm laborer; his description was medium height and build with gray eyes and red hair. He has not been found in the 1920 census; his father, a widower, was retired and staying with the Stackhouse family.
In 1930, Brown was married and lived in Morrisville, Pennsylvania at 456 Stockham Avenue. According to the census, his wife, Alice, was 17 years his junior; they had a five-year-old daughter. He worked as an insurance agent. He signed his World War II draft card on April 27, 1942. He lived at 615 North Pennsylvania Avenue, in Morrisville, and worked for the Prudential Insurance Company in Princeton, New Jersey. His description on the card was "5 ft 10 in, 170 lbs, blue eyes, sandy hair."
Brown passed away on November 11, 1962 in Trenton, New Jersey. The Trenton Evening Times reported his death the following day.
Harris H. Brown died last night at his home, 26 South Westfield Avenue, following a short illness.
Mr. Harris was a retired Prudential Insurance Company agent, and also was retired as a guide at the State Museum.
He was well known as a cartoonist, having created the "Willie Green" comics, and was a cartoonist with the former Philadelphia Record for 30 years. He also had done commercial art work.
Born in Philadelphia, he resided in Trenton for the past 25 years, and previously made his home in the Emilie-Fallsington [Pennsylvania] area for many years. He was a graduate of Williamson College [a vocational school], Media, Pa.
Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Alice Kellett Brown; two daughters, Mrs. Nancianne B. Parrella and Mrs. Sally Jane Bergner, both of Trenton, and five grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Friday at 11 a.m. in the First Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Dr. Andrew Sebben, pastor, will officiate. Burial will be in Fountain Lawn Memorial Park.
The 1910 census recorded Brown in Philadelphia, boarding at 733 North 20th Street. He was an artist doing newspaper work. His parents were still farming in Bristol. He copyrighted Adventures of Willie Green, Book No. 1 on March 26, 1915, according to the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 1, Group 2: Pamphlets, Leaflets, etc. 1915, New Series, Volume 12, Number 4. He signed his World War I draft card on September 12, 1918. His occupation was farm laborer; his description was medium height and build with gray eyes and red hair. He has not been found in the 1920 census; his father, a widower, was retired and staying with the Stackhouse family.
In 1930, Brown was married and lived in Morrisville, Pennsylvania at 456 Stockham Avenue. According to the census, his wife, Alice, was 17 years his junior; they had a five-year-old daughter. He worked as an insurance agent. He signed his World War II draft card on April 27, 1942. He lived at 615 North Pennsylvania Avenue, in Morrisville, and worked for the Prudential Insurance Company in Princeton, New Jersey. His description on the card was "5 ft 10 in, 170 lbs, blue eyes, sandy hair."
Brown passed away on November 11, 1962 in Trenton, New Jersey. The Trenton Evening Times reported his death the following day.
Harris Brown Dies Following Short Illness
Harris H. Brown died last night at his home, 26 South Westfield Avenue, following a short illness.
Mr. Harris was a retired Prudential Insurance Company agent, and also was retired as a guide at the State Museum.
He was well known as a cartoonist, having created the "Willie Green" comics, and was a cartoonist with the former Philadelphia Record for 30 years. He also had done commercial art work.
Born in Philadelphia, he resided in Trenton for the past 25 years, and previously made his home in the Emilie-Fallsington [Pennsylvania] area for many years. He was a graduate of Williamson College [a vocational school], Media, Pa.
Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Alice Kellett Brown; two daughters, Mrs. Nancianne B. Parrella and Mrs. Sally Jane Bergner, both of Trenton, and five grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Friday at 11 a.m. in the First Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Dr. Andrew Sebben, pastor, will officiate. Burial will be in Fountain Lawn Memorial Park.
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Obscurity of the Day: Willie Green
However, although the Record wasn't awash in color, they did make a nod to running Sunday comics. For over twenty years they featured a half-page homegrown strip in black and white titled Willie Green. This wasn't by any means the only strip they ran, but when it did run it was always clearly the star of the show. Most of the other strips tended to be daily size.
Willie Green, a strip about a mischievous boy, debuted on September 2 1906, penned by a local teenaged cartoonist named Harris H. Brown. The strip, initially drawn in a very crisp style that you can see in this old blogpost, seems to have been a real hit with Record readers. The strip ran weekly for the next five years, then began to run every second week, alternating with Cousin Sammy Green (a country cousin of Willie) penned by John F. Hart, from December 3 1911 to May 12 1912.
Willie Green disappeared at that point, and other minor strips ran in its place. Eventually even these pretty much petered out. Then as the new year of 1914 rang in, the Record added a Sunday color comic section, courtesy of Hearst's new Newspaper Feature Service syndicate. In addition to the color section, Willie Green came back. This time the strip ran from January 4 1914 to September 3 1916 (today's samples are from this interval). It was during this run that a pair of reprint books were issued through the Frank M. Acton Company. Both are quite rare.
Once again Harris Brown took flight, but again he returned. On November 18 1917 the strip is resurrected yet again, only to stop on July 14 1918. This time Brown was gone for quite awhile, but either the pull of cartooning for the Record was too great, or his luck at other ventures was too bad, because on May 22 1921 he's back. But not for long. This run ended after a bare six months, on November 13. It was in this period, however, that Brown self-published another Willie Green reprint book; perhaps the 1921 run was intended purely as a bit of promotion.
Willie Green then pops up in the darnedest place, as a feature of World Color Printing's weekly children's activity page. I believe these are reprints of earlier material. One has to wonder if Harris Brown or the Philadelphia Record sold them the rights. Anyway, whatever the arrangement was, it didn't last, as Willie Green ran only three times on that page.
The last hurrah for Willie Green came near the end of the 20s, when it made its last gasp as a feature of the Record Junior magazine section for kids. This final run was from January 8 to August 12 1928.
Why Brown did this feature in fits and starts is a mystery to me. But maybe we'll learn some clues tomorrow when Alex Jay contributes an Ink-Slinger Profile of Harris Brown.
Labels: Obscurities
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Ink-Slinger Profiles: Wally Wallgren
Abian Anders "Wally" Wallgren was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 4, 1891, according to Find a Grave. The 1900 U.S. Federal Census recorded the Wallgrens in Philadelphia at 1631 Chadwick Street. His birth was recorded as "June 1891" and he was the oldest of three children born to Abian and Hilma, both born in Sweden. His father was a tailor.
The book Swedes in America, 1638-1938 (1969) said, "He entered newspaper work at an early age and was indeed, something of a youthful prodigy in the art department of the old Philadelphia North American, for by the time he was sixteen [1907] he had two Sunday comic strips running; 'Inbad, the Sailor' and 'Ruff and Reddy.' " [Allan's note: the series cited actually began in 1911 and 1910 respectively]
In 1910 the Wallgren family of six remained in Philadelphia, at 1208 52nd Street. He was a newspaper cartoonist. In 1915, for the Philadelphia Record, he produced the strip Sammy and Sue and Slobbery Slam. Find a Grave and Lambiek said he contributed to the Philadelphia Public Ledger and the Washington Post. The U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1940 at Ancestry.com said he enlisted on April 25, 1917, almost two weeks after the U.S. entered World War I. A muster roll from September 1917 summarized his conduct violations:
SD, Sign Painter. Tried by S.C.M. 7th charged with violation of the 61st and 96th Articles of War. Specifications: AWL from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on 4th; Drunk in Camp about 7:00 p.m. on 4th; Findings: Guilty. Sentence: To perform hard labor for one month and to forfeit two-thirds of his pay for one month. Sentence approved 8th.
Swedes in America covered his early service career.
…[Wallgren] was among the first to see service in France as a buck private and regimental sign painter, a post which army logic assigned him on his "professional" record. According to his own account for nine months he painted "Latrine" and "Officers Only" signs up and down France, from St. Nazaire, through Menaucourt, to Damblaine in the Vosges. Private Wallgren's light, however, was being kept under a bushel. His great opportunity came when the Stars and Stripes was started as the official newspaper of the AEF [American Expeditionary Forces], and Wally was placed on the staff as cartoonist. In February, 1918, he was transferred to Paris and drew cartoons for this doughboy newspaper throughout the War, until the final issue in June, 1919.
Robert I. Snajdr, of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio), wrote a remembrance of Wallgren on March 29, 1948; below, an excerpt about his time on Stars and Stripes:
…Incidentally, Wally's utter indifference to deadlines was a cause of continuous, albeit at times humorous, exasperation to his superiors. As John T. Winterich, another brilliant staff member, put it in his history of the paper, "Squads Write!": "The extraction of a weekly strip from Private Wallgren became one of the more monumental tasks of the war."
Sometimes it was even necessary to assign a detail to the carefree artist to see that he produced a job on time. Once, even, so the story goes, he was confined in a room under watchful eyes of M.P.s with instructions not to let him out until he had completed his weekly stint.
Some of his cartoons can be viewed here. His military career was covered in a Time magazine profile on October 17, 1938. According to a U.S. Marine Corps Muster Roll, Wallgren was on indefinite furlough from July 14, 1919 to January 14, 1920, and was discharged on January 15. He was counted in the 1920 census with his family, now at seven members, at the same 1910 address. His occupation was magazine cartoonist.
In 1930 Wallgren and his wife Florence lived in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania at 837 Concord Avenue. They married when they were 28 years old, which was around 1920. He was a cartoonist. In 1938, Wallgren created the newspaper strip Hoosegow Herman; color samples can be viewed at I Love Comix Archive, [Update: The blog has moved and offers a way to access the archive.] and original art can be viewed at Heritage Auctions.
Sunday page, 12/3/1939, courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
Wallgren passed away on March 24, 1948 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The Lawton Constitution (Oklahoma) published the Associated Press story the following day.
Wally Wallgren, Cartoonist of First World War, Dies
Philadelphia, March 25.—(AP)—Abian A. (Wally) Wallgren, 56, cartoonist for "Stars and Stripes" during the first World War and later with the American Legion monthly, died yesterday after a long illness.
Wallgren was credited by Gen. John J. Pershing with keeping up the morale of thousands of doughboys with his travesties on officers and his humorous illustrations picturing the difficulties and problems of soldiers.
Among Wallgren's creations were "Inbad the Sailor," "Hoosegow Herman," and "The Saluting Demon."
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Comments:
LoC's American Memory site has the complete first series of “The Stars and Stripes” available online, February 8, 1918, thru June 13, 1919, as published in Paris, France:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sgphtml/sashtml/
I'll be sending a few more details via email...
Leonardo De Sá, over here
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sgphtml/sashtml/
I'll be sending a few more details via email...
Leonardo De Sá, over here
This is really beautiful stuff. This guy should be better known. The "Inbad" strips are highly Opper-damaged, but that later one is so refined, almost European in style. I'm impressed.
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Obscurity of the Day: Inbad the Sailor
So naturally fate ensured that Wally's entire adult life ended up entwined with the military. When he wasn't in uniform, he was cartooning about military life. And here's where it all started, in 1911, with Inbad the Sailor. Why Wally chose a sailor for this series I cannot fathom. It's not really germane to the idea, other than providing a pretext for an ever-changing setting. And this was long before the military should have even been on his radar (he was drafted for World War I). But he did, so I get to tell you that this is Wally Wallgren's very first military-themed strip, a portent of the next 30+ years of Wally's life.
Inbad the Sailor, a strip about a tender-hearted tar who gets the snot beat out of him all over the world for trying to do good deeds, ran in the Philadelphia North American from January 1 to June 18 1911.
Thanks to Cole Johnson for the scans!
Tomorrow: an Ink-Slinger Profile of Wally Wallgren by Alex Jay
Labels: Obscurities
Monday, January 16, 2012
Obscurity of the Day: Kiwi
The kiwi is a flightless bird, so it seems sort of amazing that a strip about one had a very long migration, all the way from Australia to the U.S.
Ken Montone, new to Australia from the U.S., and Brian Kirby, fresh from Great Britain via Singapore and India, both came to the country as art directors at McCann-Erickson Advertising. The two found enough free time to come up with a minimalist comic strip about birds, then called Birdwirds, and sold it to the Sydney Sun-Herald as a Sunday feature in early 1965.
Not long after, both Kirby and Montone left Australia, taking their strip with them. They then sold it in England to the London Daily Sketch.
Then Montone returned to the U.S. and sold the strip to the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate. According to Montone the strip was initially tried out in the syndicate's flagship papers, and then was generally syndicated starting on February 12 1968. In the U.S. the title was changed to Kiwi; Montone says this was because the original title was considered "somewhat naughty". (I hate to admit ignorance of anything naughty, but I confess I don't see what's off-color about the title Birdwirds).
Things were tough, though, for the two creators. Kirby tried to immigrate to the U.S., but was unsuccessful. The two creators ended up collaborating long distance, with Kirby living offshore in Barbados. In 1970 the partnership carried on by mail and long-distance calls proved too much, and Kirby dropped out as co-creator of the strip. As Montone tells it, it was the beginning of the end. "By this time, the strip was suffering from a myriad of problems and the circulation showed it. In 1971, CT/NYNS and I parted company".
And thus the Kiwi with by far the longest flight on record became extinct.
Thanks to Ken Montone, who supplied many details about his strip.
PS -- The co-creator's name is definitely Montone, not Monotone -- my samples from the San Francisco Examiner seem to have been typeset by either a practical joker or a comic strip critic.
Labels: Obscurities
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Sunday, January 15, 2012
Jim Ivey's Sunday Comics
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Herriman Saturday
Water polo wasn't much more than an infant sport at this time; the rules were still being standardized in the late 19th century. The sport got a big boost when it was featured in the first modern Olympics in 1900.
Labels: Herriman's LA Examiner Cartoons
Friday, January 13, 2012
Ink-Slinger Profiles: A.Y. Hambleton
Arthur Yeager Hambleton was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 24, 1876, according to his World War I draft card at Ancestry.com. According to a family tree at Ancestry.com, his parents were Richard Emory Hugg-Hambleton (1845–1898) and Ella Frances Yeager (1849–1933). He has not been found in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census.
In the 1900 census, he was married to Alice, whose mother, Mary Sisselberger, a widow, was head of the household, which included his sister-in-law, Mary. They lived in Baltimore at 1506 Mount Royal Avenue. He was an artist. The Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) reported on January 2, 1902, "A chalk talk was given in the boys' room during the afternoon by Mr. A.Y. Hambleton, a sketch artist." The Morning Herald (Baltimore, Maryland), November 21, 1903, noted, "An entertainment will be provided by Knight's orchestra and Mr. A.Y. Hambleton, chalk talker." He contributed cartoons to the Sunday Sun in 1906 and signed them "Hamb."
The Sun, 9/25/1906
The Sun, 10/21/1906
In 1910, he was the head of the household which included son Richard, born 1901. The family of three lived in Baltimore on Pimlico Road. He was an artist. On September 26, 1910, The Sun reported, "A.Y. Hambleton, the comic artist and illustrator, recently launched on the vaudeville stage, where he gives 'Chalk Talks'." He signed his World War I draft card on September 12, 1918. He lived at 2710 Reisterstown Road in Baltimore. He was a newspaper artist for the International Syndicate. His description was tall, slender, with gray eyes and brown hair.
In the next census, he remained in Baltimore at another address, 2710 Fanview Avenue. He had his own business as an artist. In the 1930 census, Baltimore remained his hometown where he lived at 3110 Reisterstown Road. He was a newspaper artist.
Hambleton passed away in 1957, in Maryland. An obituary has not been found. The funeral service for his wife was reported in The Sun, May 17, 1970, and it said he had died 13 years earlier.
Update:
The Sun, November 14, 1899, marriage license notice
Issued by the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas
The following marriage licenses were issued yesterday in Baltimore, the parties residing in Baltimore unless otherwise stated:
Arthur Y. Hambleton, 319 North Paca street, Alice B. Sisselberger.
The Sun, November 14, 1949, reported the couple's fiftieth wedding anniversary. In addition to being a commercial artist, Hambleton gave guitar and ukulele lessons for ten years.
The Sun, July 4, 1957, death notice
Hambleton.—On July 3, 1957, at his home, Luna lane, Round Bay, Arthur Y., beloved husband of Beatrice S. Hambleton (nee Sisselberger) and father of Mr. Waldo Hambleton.
Thanks to Leonardo De Sá for the additional information!
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Comments:
Hambleton died July 3, 1957. I'll be sending a few files with additional info by email...
Leonardo De Sá
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Leonardo De Sá
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Obscurity of the Day: The Theatrical Alphabet
Cole says of this item:
Here's a local strip from the Baltimore Herald. I've seen "Hamb"'s work before. This is a very primitive section, with a mix of real artists and cro-magnons, such as Morrison, T. Barnes, Fenderson (unsigned), W.M. Goodes, C. Toles, Sissel, J.C. Mayer, Mark Dintenfass, Fithian (dated "99"), all one-shots but for this item, in April and May, 1901. The insides feature "M. Quad's Page", and the saga of "Mr. Bowser" , illustrated by McDougall, longtime staples of the McClure syndicate. In September, this paper picked up the McClure comic section. Did McClure syndicate cartoons before the section was introduced?Whether this section of the first half of 1901 in the Herald was indeed some sort of proto-McClure section I don't know. McClure's 'official' comics section debuted on 4/28/1901 and had continuing series from the start. I do, however, think I can ID "Hamb" -- I think this is A.Y. Hambleton, who later did a little work for the Philadelphia North American.
Labels: Obscurities
Comments:
Note that these "excruciatingly awful rhymes" may well have been written by H. L. Mencken himself, considering that he also performs it if we are to believe this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXZITf1Bv_0
# posted by : 1/12/2012 11:49 AM
: 1/12/2012 11:49 AM
Very exciting that Mencken may have penned a poem for the Sunday comics section (even if it was a stinker)! Unfortunately other than that youtube video I'm not finding any info online. Does anyone know the background of that poem, or do I need to order a copy of Collected Poems of HL Mencken?
--Allan
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--Allan
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Ink-Slinger Profiles: Albert Carmichael
In The World Encyclopedia of Cartoons, Volume 2 (1983) Maurice Horn profiled Albert Carmichael. Like the other profiles in the book, the sources of information were not mentioned. Using Ancestry.com and Google, I found sources that support some of the details in the profile, and I have found information regarding Carmichael's wife and son. What follows are excerpts from Horn's profile of Carmichael. My comments appear parenthetically.
CARMICHAEL, ALBERT PETER (1890-1917) American cartoonist born in Albany, New York, on December 13, 1890. Albert P. Carmichael started his cartooning career with the New York World when he was not yet 17. Among his co-workers on the World art staff were Gus Mager, Jack Callahan and George McManus, whose style Carmichael greatly admired and endeavored to emulate.
(Carmichael's full name is correct. The Washington Post reported, on October 26, 1974, the death of his wife. "Myra C. Carmichael, the widow of Albert Peter Carmichael, a cartoonist for the old New York World, died Thursday night at Sands Point Nursing Home at Sands Point, N.Y. She was 84." The month and year of Carmichael's birth is confirmed by the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. He, his mother and brother lived with his maternal grandmother in Malta, New York. In the 1910 census, Carmichael's birthplace was recorded as "Albany, N.Y." He, his mother and grandmother lived in the Bronx, New York City at 1000 Simpson Street. His occupation was artist at the World.)
Carmichael contributed cartoons and spot illustrations to the columns of the World, as well as a number of panels and comic strips, including Jay Jones and His Camera (1908) and Why Be Discontented (1907), The Ambitions of Sonny and Sue (1908), Our Funny Language, Dr. Spook's Explorations (1909), Rosie, the Joy of New York Life (1911) and…Everybody's Doing It! (1912). Carmichael is best noted for his continuation of McManus's The Newlyweds and Spareribs and Gravy which he took over in 1912. Carmichael died on February 3, 1917, from complications of an appendicitis operation, at the age of 26.
(At Ancestry.com there is a family tree for Carmichael; the tree has the same death date, plus the location as Los Angeles, California. He married Myra Cordes around 1916; the Washington Post said, "Mrs. Carmichael was an artist for the World, an actress in silent films and an active suffragette in the days before World War I." In the book Silent Film Necrology (2001), her entry is, "Carmichael, Myra [actress] (b. 22 Jan 1890-22 Oct 1974 [84], Port Washington NY). AS, p. 205 (d. 25 Oct, LA CA). BHD1, p. 605."
Fort Wayne News (Indiana) 7/26/1912
Their son was Albert Peter Carmichael, Jr., and, according to the Social Security Death Index, he was born July 19, 1917 and died October 21, 2001. Myra was pregnant when Carmichael died. The Washington Post said, "She is survived by her son, Albert, an Associated Press newsman and two grandchildren." An assessment of Carmichael's work is here. Carmichael also produced postcards.)
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Comments:
Hello, Allan-------Would it correct to assume that Carmichael was actually McManus' assistant? Also, Carmichael took over THE NEWLYWEDS and SPARERIBS AND GRAVY on Sept. 1, 1912, not 1914.
# posted by : 1/11/2012 11:02 AM
: 1/11/2012 11:02 AM
Sorry, didn't proof well enough, error fixed. Now about that Sept. 1 date specifically though ... I have McManus last signing Newlyweds on 8/18. Was there no episode on 8/25, or did we have a mystery guest star that week? And on Spareribs, I have a gap from 8/18 to 9/8. Can you shed any light?
Thanks, Allan
Thanks, Allan
Hello, Allan---The 8-25-12 Pulitzer section features the last SPARERIBS and NEWLYWEDS by McManus, and the last time these features appeared on the cover. (In this case a SPARERIBS episode.) Next week, 9-1-12, are the first Carmichael episodes, although unsigned for a while. And remember, never just use the WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMICS for your facts. It's pretty shaky stuff.
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# posted by : 1/12/2012 1:12 AM
: 1/12/2012 1:12 AM Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Obscurity of the Day: Ambitions of Sonny and Sue
One of the reasons I started the blog was as bait for contacting people who had more intimate knowledge of cartoonists who intrigue me, Carmichael of course being one of those. I've been lucky enough to connect with relatives of Roy Taylor, Ethel Hays and others through the blog, learning some fascinating stuff here and there. Carmichael, though, has been a blank all these years. That is, until this past summer when I was contacted by his great grand-daughter. So far I've learned a few interesting tidbits (for instance -- he died of complications after an appendectomy), with promises of more reminiscences to come. Unfortunately we both had busy schedules at the time, and I haven't heard from her in a long while. I know that life has an unfortunate habit of not slowing down so that we can catch up, but I do hope that I'll hear from her again.
Today's obscurity, a weekday strip called The Ambitions of Sonny and Sue, was penned by Albert Carmichael for the New York Evening World from September 19 to December 26 1908. It didn't run all that often, and the plot about the romance between a secretary and a clerk in an office is less than enthralling. But this is early Carmichael, just seventeen years old, and he'll improve.
Tomorrow: Alex Jay's Ink-Slinger Profile of Albert Carmichael
Labels: Obscurities
Monday, January 09, 2012
News of Yore: Dan McCarthy's School
The National School of Caricature
(Printer's Ink, 4/23/1902)
A representative of Printers' Ink recently had an interview with Mr. Daniel McCarthy, the director of the National School of Caricature, which has a suite of offices in the Pulitzer Building, Park Row, New York City. Mr. McCarthy told an interesting story about the way in which he had built up a business by means of advertising in the short space of one year.
"I commenced by advertising among the 'Help Wanted" columns in the Herald and other papers," said Mr. McCarthy, "using only five or six lines. I advertised to teach drawing by mail, and I soon began to get quite a number of replies, a fair percentage of which later turned out to be regular pupils. My plan was to send out a prospectus with all particulars of the tuition and and costs to every person who answered the ad. I guarantee instruction by mail, in newspaper caricature work, which is the principal and, I may say, the unique feature of this school. I am not aware that there is such another school in existence.
"I will tell you about my advertising first, then about my methods of instruction. Finding that the business grew, my partner, Mr. Burger [this would be Mort M. Burger -- ed.], and myself decided to extend the advertising still further. We took the same small space in the leading dailies of the country, and even in the British metropolis we use the four principal newspapers. We get on an average from 80 to 100 letters of inquiry daily, and we have over 400 regular pupils whom we teach by mail. The course consists of 35 lessons, and for this instruction we charge $25 if paid in advance, $30 if paid in installments. Our pupils are in the United States. Canada, Great Britain and even France and Germany. We arrange the course of 35 weeks so that the 17 weeks of summer shall be for vacations, as most people go away during some part of the heated term.
"By reason of our original method of instruction, we positively guarantee that any young man or woman with a natural talent for drawing, can, by following all the instructions carefully, conscientiously and accurately,become a competent illustrator and prepare for earning a good income. We write letters of criticism and advice to our pupils, and then, if after conscientious trying, they fail to benefit by our teaching, the amount paid for tuition is cheerfully refunded.
"The course of 35 lessons includes caricaturing, cartooning, sketching from life , the study of original action, decorative designing, lettering, process paper drawing and landscape sketching, newspaper and commercial designing and all branches of illustrating, including wash and crayon drawing. The first lessons are naturally rudimentary—the making of lines, for that is the first step towards learning how to draw correctly. Each lesson, after being done by the pupil, is mailed to us for criticism, and I personally examine it, marking in red ink my comments, adverse or otherwise, so that the pupil may see exactly where he or she is right or where wrong.
"We have only been in business one year, yet there are very many of our pupils who are now drawing for the newspapers and magazines and are on the way to making good incomes. I place a profession in their fingers and they learn it at very little cost. We have men and women of mature years and also boys and girls as pupils.
"Lately we have started a school in our class rooms where pupils may study in person by day or evening and our school is rapidly growing. Here we teach caricaturing from the model—from life itself. We have an average class of twenty-four of both sexes, and while they are at work Mr. Burger and myself walk around and see how the students are progressing, giving advice here, criticising there, and so on. It is our intention to form another class shortly, one that shall be devoted more to mechanical draughtsmanship, water color work, advertisement designing and show card writing and illustrating.
Advertisement
(Printer's Ink, 5/7/1902)
HAVE YOU TALENTS FOR DRAWING!
Send for free lesson No. 14 and terms to the
National School of Caricature. We teach by
mail also. Day and night classes from model.
The only school of its kind in the world.
DAN McCARTHY, Director,
NATIONAL SCHOOL OF CARICATURE,
Studios, 87 World Building, New York City.
[George Carlson's obituary in the Bridgeport Telegram, September 27, 1962, said, "...He studied in the National School of Caricature, started by Dan McCarthy, political cartoonist for the New York World..."]
[George Carlson's obituary in the Bridgeport Telegram, September 27, 1962, said, "...He studied in the National School of Caricature, started by Dan McCarthy, political cartoonist for the New York World..."]
Cartoonist Dead
(The Meriden Daily Journal, 2/17/1905)
Daniel M'Carthy Was Well-known Newspaper Artist.
New York, Feb. 17.—Daniel McCarthy, one of the best known caricaturists in this country in his prime, died yesterday at his home, 58 West 116th street. (more)
[Gay Gazoozaland contributor]
Labels: News of Yore
Sunday, January 08, 2012
Jim Ivey's Sunday Comics
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Herriman Saturday
You'll recall that we covered that strip as an obscurity about a month ago, and Mark shortly thereafter mentioned that he seemed to recall an episode running in the North American. I disagreed, saying that my indexing of that paper indicated no such occurrence. A week or so passed and brother Cole sends me this scan, which he assures me is from the March 9 1902 issue of the North American, my index notwithstanding. Presumably the comic section I indexed on microfilm was incomplete or I just plain missed it.
The remaining question, then, is whether this episode also ran in the New York World, or if it ran only in the North American. If it did run in the World, did it run on March 9? Or is it the one remaining episode of February 16 not printed with my earlier blog post? Sadly all these questions are, at least for the moment, unanswered.
Comments:
Allan:
The Feb 16 World episode of Musical Mose is "Musical Mose 'Impussanates' a Scotchman, With Sad Results." I never saw the "Exclusive Professions" episode in the World comic supplement during this period, though I have a vague memory that at least one Mose got picked up by some other paper. I really like the Garibaldi picture in the first and last panels of this one!
The Feb 16 World episode of Musical Mose is "Musical Mose 'Impussanates' a Scotchman, With Sad Results." I never saw the "Exclusive Professions" episode in the World comic supplement during this period, though I have a vague memory that at least one Mose got picked up by some other paper. I really like the Garibaldi picture in the first and last panels of this one!
# posted by : 1/08/2012 11:17 PM
: 1/08/2012 11:17 PM
It would seem that Herriman was short a cartoon for the NA, and he had a Mose already drawn, so he sent that. He had deadline problems all the time, probably because of his health. Not too long ago I was asked to help decipher the handwriting on the margins of a Krazy Kat original. It turned out to be his editor questioning him about late work!
In any case, he got away with this switch. He isn't referred to as Mose, even though it's obvious it is. The transient nature of 1902 series strips meant nobody noticed.
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In any case, he got away with this switch. He isn't referred to as Mose, even though it's obvious it is. The transient nature of 1902 series strips meant nobody noticed.
# posted by : 1/09/2012 10:47 AM
: 1/09/2012 10:47 AM Friday, January 06, 2012
Ink-Slinger Profiles: Harry Temple
Harry Clifford Temple was born in Perry, Ohio on March 3, 1881 according to the Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at Ancestry.com. The 1880 U.S. Federal Census recorded his parents and two siblings in Perry. His father was a telegraph operator. He has not been found in the 1900 census, but his parents and two siblings lived in Berlin Heights, Ohio at the time. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, on October 29, 1905, Temple's marriage.
Miss Edythe Nina Carvey, daughter of Mr. Judd K. Carvey, was married on Saturday, Oct. 21, to Harry C. Temple of Berlin Heights, O., Rev. Treat of Park Congregational church officiating, and the ceremony taking place at the bride's home, No. 11 Beulah street, at 4:30 p.m. J.W. Carvey, brother of the bride, was best man and Miss Bessie Temple, the groom's sister, was bridesmaid. The bride's gown was of light gray voile with Irish applique trimmings. She carried white carnations. The bridesmaid was gowned in white and carried pink carnations. A horseshoe of autumn leaves hung over the bridal party. After an informal reception and supper Mr. and Mrs. Temple left for the home of the groom in Berlin Heights, where they will remain for a short time before going to make their home in Ft. Wayne, Ind.
How long they lived in Fort Wayne is not known. In 1910 Temple, his wife and her sister lived in Cleveland, Ohio at 1354 East 91st Street. He was a newspaper artist. For the Cleveland Plain Dealer he produced the panel Sketches from Life which ran from September 17, 1913 to November 24, 1926. Some of them were collected in a book Sketches from Life, published in 1915. In the April 28, 1917 issue, Editor & Publisher said,
Editor & Publisher 4/28/1917
Harry C. Temple is a country-bred Ohioan, educated in a red brick schoolhouse on an unimproved road. At seventeen he learned telegraphy, and advanced until he became an assistant dispatcher. Later he entered an art school, but returned occasionally to railroad work. Finally he landed with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where he developed his distinctive Sketches from Life, which have been featured in that paper for several years past, and have been extensively syndicated throughout the country these past three years.
He is a fisherman by instinct, but most of his recreation is work. As his sketches indicate, his principal interest is in folks, every-day folks, of the kind you see wherever you go.
He signed his World War I draft card on September 18, 1918. The home address is illegible. His occupation was artist at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He has not been found in the 1920 census. In 1930 he lived in Manhattan, New York City at 3 East 27th Street. He was a commercial artist, and his wife was a jewelry craftswoman. On August 9, 1935 the Kingston Daily Freeman (New York) covered his watercolor exhibition.
Gregory Exhibiting Temple Water Colors
Harry C. Temple of Woodstock, has an exhibition and sale of water colors at Gregory & Company, Broadway, for the last three weeks in August.
There is a variety of subjects and each one is handled with sympathetic understanding. Mr. Temple shows a thorough knowledge of color which few artists seem to possess. His "In the Hemlocks" is strong and masterful, while "Nature's Lace" is delicate and beautiful in color in pattern; "Sky Shadows" is dreamy and skillfully handled; "Portland Harbor" brings back pleasant memories and is peaceful and charming.
Each subject has its special appeal and the exquisite harmony and beauty of color make any one of them invaluable as a center of interest in the well furnished room. Then too, they bring close at hand things we all love to see.
Mr. Temple is to be congratulated on his splendid contribution to art.
Temple passed away on November 2, 1962, in Woodstock, New York. His death was reported the following day in the Kingston Daily Freeman.
Harry C. Temple of 79 Yerry Hill Road, Woodstock, died Friday at his residence. He was born in Perry, Ohio and was one of the earlier Woodstock artists. He had been a resident of Woodstock for the past 43 years. Fraternally, he was a member of the Kingston Lodge 10, F&AM and the Woodstock Country Club. Surviving is his wife Mrs. Edith N. Temple. Funeral services will be held Monday 2 p.m. at Lasher Funeral Home Inc., Woodstock. The Rev. Donald Hicks, pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church, Woodstock, will officiate. Burial will be in Woodstock Cemetery.
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Obscurity of the Day: Sketches From Life
Try to imagine something like Sketches from Life appearing in your daily paper -- a little eddy of somber reflection in a sea of headlines about war, crime and dirty politics. If you were a newspaper editor, would you see the value of Sketches from Life? Not many newspaper editors did take the feature, but those who did tended to be very loyal to it. I can certainly see why that would be. It seems to me readers could get quite addicted to a few square inches of calm meditation amid all the clamor and commotion of the news.
Sketches From Life was produced for the Cleveland Plain Dealer from September 17 1913 to November 24 1926. The Plain Dealer seems to have used World Color Printing as the syndicator of the feature for most of its life. There is some circumstantial evidence of a distribution relationship, perhaps short-term, with either Associated Newspapers or the Philadelphia Inquirer, too.
A book collection of the feature was issued in 1915 by World Color Printing, but there must have been a terrible distribution problem. The book is extremely rare -- I have never seen a copy for sale, and WorldCat shows copies of the book at only three libraries in the country.
Tomorrow: an Ink-Slinger Profile of Harry Temple
Labels: Obscurities
Comments:
The situations and overall tone, if not the actual drawing style, reminds me a little of Norman Rockwell.
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Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Ink-Slinger Profiles: Murray Jones Jr.
Murray Jones, Jr., I believe, is William Murray Jones, Jr. who was born in Durham, North Carolina on November 5, 1915, according to his Army registration card at Ancestry.com. He was the only child of Murray and Jeanette. According to the 1920 U.S. Federal Census, they lived in Wilson, North Carolina at 310 Park Avenue. His father was a tobacco buyer.
In 1930 they lived in Durham, North Carolina at 1528 Hermitage Court. Information about Jones's childhood art training has not been found. Jones attended Duke University; he was pictured in the 1934 yearbook The Chanticleer. In the 1935 Chanticleer he was pictured (see photo) in the fraternity Alpha Tau Omega. While a student, he contributed art to Caro-Graphics; The Dispatch (Lexington, North Carolina) published one of them, by Jones and Johnston, on November 1, 1934. Jones was listed, at the same address as his parents, in the Hill's Durham City Directory from 1936 to 1943. In Durham County: A History of Durham County, North Carolina (2011), Jean Bradley Anderson wrote:
...While Durham had many practicing artists by the decade of the 1970s, it had not been devoid of native talent in earlier times, and contrary to the contention of the Atlantic Monthly article that the arts were the province of Durham's women, the 1930s produced a group of men who became professional artists. Both the time and the place, however, made earning a living by art impossible, so that if they intended to stick to their last they had to go elsewhere to survive. In that decade appeared Nelson Rosenberg, Eugene Erwin, Ralph Fuller, Jr.*, Murray Jones, Jr., and Nathan Ornoff….
In 1939 when he was 24, Jones registered with the Army, according to his Army registration card at Ancestry.com. He was a student at Duke, and described as six feet and a half-inch tall, weighing 143 pounds, with hazel eyes and brown hair. The Shirley Jones Gallery said, "…Jones entered the Chicago Art Institute in the mid-1930s where he studied painting, drawing and the graphic arts. He graduated with an MFA degree in 1939." The May 23, 1939, Chicago Tribune story, "3 Art Institute Janitors Picked for Trip Abroad", said, "The student-janitors, who won awards of $1,500 each, are: Murray Jones, 24 years old, 17 West H- street, who comes from Durham, N.C…." The Detroit News, January 31, 1998, profiled Jones and said, "Murray Jones received his MFA at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1939, then traveled to Tahiti and Latin America…."
In 1940 he was an instructor at the Summer School of Painting in Saugatuck, Michigan, according to ads in Arts Magazine 1940. According to Shirley Jones Gallery, he served in the Army during World War II. The Detroit News said, "He joined the faculty at Michigan State University in 1946…" A June 30, 1946 news release from Art Institute of Chicago announced "Paintings by Janet and Murray Jones, and Maurice Ritman, exhibition". The date of Jones's marriage is not known. Their son Michael was born in 1946, according to Shirley Jones Gallery. Time Magazine published his letter in its January 13, 1947 issue.
Shirley Jones Gallery said, "From 1959-61, Jones lived and worked in Kyoto Japan under the sponsorship of a Fullbright Research Fellowship….at Michigan State University...he taught until 1962 at which time he accepted a professorship at Ohio State University…." Jones passed away in 1964. In a 1985 issue of Dialogue, from the Akron Art Institute in Ohio, Dale Newkirk said Jones died of multiple sclerosis. Murray Jones 1915-1964: A Memorial Exhibition was published in 1965.
In 1930 they lived in Durham, North Carolina at 1528 Hermitage Court. Information about Jones's childhood art training has not been found. Jones attended Duke University; he was pictured in the 1934 yearbook The Chanticleer. In the 1935 Chanticleer he was pictured (see photo) in the fraternity Alpha Tau Omega. While a student, he contributed art to Caro-Graphics; The Dispatch (Lexington, North Carolina) published one of them, by Jones and Johnston, on November 1, 1934. Jones was listed, at the same address as his parents, in the Hill's Durham City Directory from 1936 to 1943. In Durham County: A History of Durham County, North Carolina (2011), Jean Bradley Anderson wrote:
...While Durham had many practicing artists by the decade of the 1970s, it had not been devoid of native talent in earlier times, and contrary to the contention of the Atlantic Monthly article that the arts were the province of Durham's women, the 1930s produced a group of men who became professional artists. Both the time and the place, however, made earning a living by art impossible, so that if they intended to stick to their last they had to go elsewhere to survive. In that decade appeared Nelson Rosenberg, Eugene Erwin, Ralph Fuller, Jr.*, Murray Jones, Jr., and Nathan Ornoff….
In 1939 when he was 24, Jones registered with the Army, according to his Army registration card at Ancestry.com. He was a student at Duke, and described as six feet and a half-inch tall, weighing 143 pounds, with hazel eyes and brown hair. The Shirley Jones Gallery said, "…Jones entered the Chicago Art Institute in the mid-1930s where he studied painting, drawing and the graphic arts. He graduated with an MFA degree in 1939." The May 23, 1939, Chicago Tribune story, "3 Art Institute Janitors Picked for Trip Abroad", said, "The student-janitors, who won awards of $1,500 each, are: Murray Jones, 24 years old, 17 West H- street, who comes from Durham, N.C…." The Detroit News, January 31, 1998, profiled Jones and said, "Murray Jones received his MFA at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1939, then traveled to Tahiti and Latin America…."
In 1940 he was an instructor at the Summer School of Painting in Saugatuck, Michigan, according to ads in Arts Magazine 1940. According to Shirley Jones Gallery, he served in the Army during World War II. The Detroit News said, "He joined the faculty at Michigan State University in 1946…" A June 30, 1946 news release from Art Institute of Chicago announced "Paintings by Janet and Murray Jones, and Maurice Ritman, exhibition". The date of Jones's marriage is not known. Their son Michael was born in 1946, according to Shirley Jones Gallery. Time Magazine published his letter in its January 13, 1947 issue.
Shirley Jones Gallery said, "From 1959-61, Jones lived and worked in Kyoto Japan under the sponsorship of a Fullbright Research Fellowship….at Michigan State University...he taught until 1962 at which time he accepted a professorship at Ohio State University…." Jones passed away in 1964. In a 1985 issue of Dialogue, from the Akron Art Institute in Ohio, Dale Newkirk said Jones died of multiple sclerosis. Murray Jones 1915-1964: A Memorial Exhibition was published in 1965.
* Ralph Fuller Jr. (1904–1972; no relation to Ralph Fuller of Oaky Doaks fame) may have been one of the artists who worked on Caro-Graphics; a cartoon in yesterday's post was credited to "Fuller and Johnston". Fuller, a Georgia native, grew up in Durham. Johnston might be Samuel Nash Johnston (1906–1937), a North Carolina native, who died of acute nephritis. Another possibility is "Nash Johnston" is a pseudonym; Nash and Johnston are counties in North Carolina.
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
