J.P. Arnot's The General becomes even more impressive if we consider that it was only one of the two daily strips that he was producing at the time. How Do They Do It? was a much less interesting feature, a strip about a money-strapped wolf and the boss who is also his long-suffering pal. Good feature or not, producing two daily strips, neither of which were likely to be pulling in the dough needed to hire assistants, is an impressive feat.
Presenting this strip is a bit of an embarrassment - I only have examples starting in 1921, but my Stripper's Guide notes have it starting in 1917 with no explanation of how I came to that conclusion. Can anyone shed light on the actual start date of the strip?
I do know that the strip ended in 1926, but I don't have a specific end date. Again, anyone have more specific info?
No info on the strips but here's a very brief biographical sketch of John Paul Arnot from the askart.com site:
ReplyDeleteBiography from AskART:
Born in Alpine County, CA on Sept. 16, 1887. Arnot joined the art department of the San Francisco Chronicle in 1913. In 1915 he continued in NYC for King Features Syndicate for 17 years as the creator of "Helpful Henry" and "The Little General." Returning to San Francisco, he was department head at Eastman Kodak for the rest of his career. He died at Agnews State Hospital on Dec. 2, 1951.
Source:
Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Placerville Mountain Democrat, 2-15-1913; SF Chronicle, 12-3-1951 (obituary).
Thanks for the bio, DD. Never knew our man's first name. Does anyone care to see an editorial cartoon of his from the Chronicle? I have a few in my collection, but I don't know what the interest level is for it.
ReplyDelete--Allan
I just discovered I have a yearbook from Reno Nevada 1908. It is over abundantly illustrated by its editor and a Junior at the time J.P. Arnot. His name is John P. Arnot of Placerville Calif. If interested in more on this yearbook and the artist contact me at kensharptoledo@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI have a ton of his sketches. Found them in an old box. Not sure if they are worth anything, let me know.
ReplyDelete