Thursday, November 29, 2007
Obscurity of the Day: Tiny Tinkles
Though it sounds more like an advertising strip for male enhancement pills, Tiny Tinkles was, in reality, a long-running series that ran on that wonderful Chicago Daily News daily comics page.
Gus O'Shaughnessy originated the strip on July 23 1903. It was a cute idea - take four rhyming words, one per panel, and make a gag out of it. The idea was obviously a favorite in the Daily News' bullpen because practically everyone who ever sat at a drawing board there took an occasional whack at it. O'Shaughnessy kept it for himself for the first two years, but after that the floodgates opened. From 1905 to the strip's final appearance on April 24 1911 a parade of cartoonists signed their names to it. Mostly it was done by scribblers whose names are beyond obscure (many deservedly), but the roll call also included Gaar Williams, Harry Hershfield and R.B. Fuller.
Our sample above is from 1903.
Labels: Obscurities
