Herriman Saturday

Much thanks to everyone who commented, publicly and privately, on the Stripper's Guide Index preview. In my business the beginning of the year is a very hectic time and I haven't had time to respond to the many comments, but I'll do a post this coming week on that subject.

Our Herriman items for today were originally published on December 8 and 9 1906. The first is a rather generic editorial cartoon about the trusts -- a subject very much in the news throughout the 1900s.

Next we have an odd one. Herriman supplies a cartoon for a news story about Senator Platt receiving hush money. The odd part is that H seems to be experimenting with an alternative style using heavier than normal outlines on some of the figures. The change isn't particularly obvious on a quick perusal, but having spent two hours cleaning up this cartoon (it had a very heavy dark fold line running through it) I had ample opportunity to examine it. Herriman abandoned this stylistic experiment forthwith, as can be plainly seen in the third cartoon, where he returns to his damnably wispy lines (not that they aren't attractive, but they reproduce badly on my photocopies).

The third cartoon finds Herriman jabbing boxer Jack O'Brien who was making noises about a possible retirement from the ring. O'Brien didn't go through with it, though -- he was active (though less so than in previous years) until 1912.

Finally we have an ad for the anniversary edition of the Los Angeles Examiner featuring a nice Herriman cartoon. The Examiner was a wee three years old this year. The paper finally folded in 1989, though it was a shadow of its former self from the mid-60s on when constant labor strife hobbled it.

Be sure to tune in to Herriman Saturday next week. Herriman inaugurates his first recurring comic strip for the Examiner!