Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Obscurity of the Day: The Wishbone Man
H.C.Greening was an old-timer in the comic biz by the 1920s; he'd been around since Yellow Kid days, and though that was less than thirty years before, it probably marked him as a bit of a fossil. His success in the 1910s was limited to various incarnations of his crazy robot strip, Percy, and that funny but repetitive feature got him through the whole decade but came to an end in 1919.
By the 20s it appears his reasonably well-known name wasn't even an asset. On The Wishbone Man, his last newspaper strip series, he went by the name Cornell Greening.
Or maybe he was just a little sheepish. I first find The Wishbone Man as a product of the CV Newspaper Service, quite a step down from Greening's previous post at the New York Herald. This syndicate was the byproduct of a rather brattish young fellow who wanted to be a journalist over the objections of his fabulously rich family. Cornelius Vanderbilt IV started a modest but feisty chain of newspapers in 1923. Unable to secure the use of syndicated material for his newspapers, he started his own syndicate. Neither the syndicate nor the newspapers did at all well and the CV Newspaper Service is about as obscure as they come. Based on the chain member San Francisco Daily Herald, The Wishbone Man had a very short run, less than two months, from December 10 1923 to January 26 1924. Yet a reprint book was issued by the Century Company based on this run, which seems outlandish for such an ephemeral item.
A clue may lie in Richard Marschall's write-up on Greening in the World Encyclopedia of Comics. He says the strip was with McClure Syndicate. I have not found any evidence of this, but perhaps there was a McClure run before the CV run. (As an aside, he also seems to say that the strip may have been known as Eb and Flo during that run).
After leaving the Vanderbilt organization and publishing the book, the feature shows up again, this time at the very bottom of the barrel -- Bernarr MacFadden's New York Evening Graphic. The strip runs there from February 22 to November 13 1926 (these dates are from the Philadelphia Daily News, a part of the MacFadden chain, and may not be the same dates as the home paper).
Greening's final strip may have been well-travelled, but it's not all that great, and besides, it's just a little creepy. Children making wishes by pulling on a weird old dude's legs strikes me as something that would have parents chasing down the author with torches and pitchforks these days. As a diversion for the smaller kids in that simpler time, though, I'm sure it was well-received and Greening need not be ashamed of his last feature (only a little abashed at the venues in which it ran).
Labels: Obscurities
Comments:
Hey Allan,
Also interesting is the fact that Greening made a few Percy cartoons for JR Bray in the late 'teens, you can see the art from one on my pal Tom Stathes' Bray Animation Project website.
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Also interesting is the fact that Greening made a few Percy cartoons for JR Bray in the late 'teens, you can see the art from one on my pal Tom Stathes' Bray Animation Project website.
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Ink-Slinger Profiles: Ed Grinham
Edward "Ed" Grinham was born in London, England on August 19, 1883, according to a passport application filed on January 15, 1920. The family emigrated to the United States in December 1889. In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, the Grinham family of six resided in St. Louis, Missouri at 2620 Laclede Avenue. Grinham, an artist, was the third of four sons born to James and Harriet. His father was a laborer for the railroad. The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio) published the following article on December 24, 1908.
Newly Weds Are Wedded
George McManus, the artist who created the Newlyweds, Panhandle Pete, the Jolly, Jolly Girls and many other comics for the past four years, was married tonight to Miss Florence Bergere, the original Mrs. Newlywed. The ceremony was performed at the Hotel Belleclaire by Rev. Arthur C. McMillan, rector of the First Presbyterian church of Yonkers.
Those present were Mr. and Mrs. Edward Grinham of St. Louis, Ray Peck, the author and his wife, and W. K. Semple of the Circle theater.
Mr. McManus being shy and bashful, had been keeping his coming marriage a secret. He had planned to be married at the city hall by Mayor McClellan but when he learned that the secret was out he decided to wed at once.
The Repository (Ohio), 4/1/1910
In 1910 Grinham and his younger brother, George, lived with their parents in St. Louis at 5005 Ridge Avenue. He was a newspaper cartoonist, and his brother was a newspaper artist. The New York Evening Telegram published Grinham's Well, I'll Wait a Little While in 1910 and I Should Say Not in 1911. The Elkhart Daily Review (Indiana) reported Grinham's visit on July 7, 1911.
Edward Grinham, press representative with the Miller 101 Ranch show, is a cartoonist by profession, and as such was engaged for a number of years with leading publications of the east. His health failed, outdoor life was advised, the present engagement offered itself, and Mr. Grinham finds himself attached to the breeziest "outenest" outdoor occupation he could have hoped fortune would throw his way. The Review herewith presents a specimen of Mr. Grinham's work.
Who's Who in Animated Cartoons (2006) said, "…in 1915…Edward Grinham…animated for newspaper maverick William Randolph Hearst's International Film Service." The book Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898-1928 (1993) said, "…George McManus was unquestionably the most influential source of family material. His successful strip "Bringing Up Father" was made into cartoons at I.F.S. in 1916-17 by Edward Grinham, who was hired especially for the job and was supervised by Frank Moser and Bert Green." Grinham signed his World War I draft card on September 12, 1918. He was a cartoonist for the Air [illegible] Corporation, which was based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He lived with his wife at 2011 Morris Avenue in the Bronx, New York. His description was medium height and build with gray eyes and brown hair.
He was not recorded in the 1920 census because he was out of the country. His passport application showed he (see photo) was an artist and salesman, and was traveling for professional work to England and France. He departed on January 24, 1920. He returned to New York, aboard the S.S. New York, on April 22, 1920, from Cherbourg, France. The passenger list showed that he was a widower, and resided at the Long Ash [sic: Longacre] Hotel in New York City.
In 1930 Grinham and his second wife, Florence, lived in Teaneck, New Jersey at 1165 Anna Street. The census showed that he was 27 years old (1910 or 1911) at his first marriage. His occupation was business manager for a photo-engraving company.
The New York Times covered the funeral of Ogden M. Reid on January 8, 1947, and mentioned Grinham.
1,500 at Funeral of Ogden M. Reid
Leaders in the political, financial and business life of the nation and many figures of social prominence were among the more than 1,500 persons who attended a funeral service yesterday in St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Fifth Avenue and Fifty-third Street, for Ogden Mills Reid. Mr. Reid, editor of The Herald Tribune and president of the Herald Tribune Corporation, died on Friday night at the Harkness Pavilion of the Columbian-Presbyterian Medical Center at the age of 64….
Other Notables Present
Jay N. Darling...Edward Grinham…H.T. Webster…
The date of Grinham's passing is not known.
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Comments:
You can see another picture of him on http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/mini/washu-docs-1903.html That page describes a 1903 book of caricatures by seven illustrators, including the very young Grinham and McManus (both about 20 years old!)
# posted by 
: 9/06/2011 9:31 AM
: 9/06/2011 9:31 AM
Billion Graves has an "Edward Grinham", who was born in 1883 and died in 1961. Probably him.
https://billiongraves.com/grave/EDWARD-GRINHAM/30998263
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https://billiongraves.com/grave/EDWARD-GRINHAM/30998263
# posted by : 4/30/2022 9:17 PM
: 4/30/2022 9:17 PM Monday, September 05, 2011
Obscurity of the Day: Well, I'll Wait A Little While
Well, I'll Wait a Little While was a paean to procrastination. In every strip the main character put something off until finally they got bit. It's terribly formulaic stuff, as was Grinham's other feature, I Should Say Not, another strip in which the characters repeat the title mantra ad nauseum.
Well, I'll Wait A Little While ran from January 6 to September 15 1910, which is about eight months longer than any Telegram readers probably bothered to even glance at it.
Labels: Obscurities
Comments:
I like the art. It has a nice style and movement. Unlike too much of today's art, we saw John from a variety of angles.
Granted the art was nothing special, but while I would not bother to read the strip I would glance at the pictures.
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Granted the art was nothing special, but while I would not bother to read the strip I would glance at the pictures.
Sunday, September 04, 2011
Jim Ivey's Sunday Comics
Saturday, September 03, 2011
Herriman Saturday
Labels: Herriman's LA Examiner Cartoons
Friday, September 02, 2011
Obscurity of the Day: The Wrangle Sisters
Labels: Obscurities
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Ink-Slinger Profiles: Walter Quermann
Walter Edward Quermann was born at home in St. Louis, Missouri on May 10, 1897, according to the Missouri Birth Records at Ancestry.com. In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census he was the third of four sons born to Herman and Mary. His father was a photographer and of German descent; his mother was Canadian, English-seaking. The family lived in St. Louis at 1447 Chamber Street.
The family remained in St. Louis in 1910 but at 4016 Palm Street. Quermann was a fine arts major in college. The Bulletin of Washington University, St. Louis, Fifty-seventh Annual Catalogue, March 1914 listed him on page 385. It is not known if he graduated. He signed his World War I draft card on June 5, 1918. He lived at home with his parents and was employed at the Barnes Crosby Engraving Company. His description was medium height, slender build with gray eyes and brown hair. In 1920 the family was at the same address but without the oldest son. Quermann was an artist at a stationery company.
He and his younger brother, a chemical engineer, lived with their parents at the same address, according to the 1930 census. Quermann was an artist for a daily paper. His cousin, Ruth E. Williams, was a member of the household. The Gould’s St. Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1930 listing said he was a Post-Dispatch artist who resided at 2944 Dodler. The start date for his strip, Toy Talkies, has not been determined but an entry in the Catalogue of Copyright Entries, Part 1, Group 2, Pamphlets, etc. 1931, New Series, Volume 28, No. 11, page 1508 has a date for late 1931: “Quermann (Walter) Toy talkies. (St. Louis Post Dispatch) © Nov. 1. 1931; 1 c. Oct. 29; A 36052; St. Louis post dispatch, St. Louis. 42385”. In 1934 the strip was retitled Hickory Hollow Folks and continued until 1955.(A watermarked image of the strip, from the Billy Ireland Library and Cartoon Museum, can be viewed here.)
He has not been found in the 1940 census. Quermann married Ruth Evelyn Williams on November 6, 1953 in Shelby County, Tennessee. The marriage license can be viewed at the Shelby County Register of Deeds. (It takes several seconds to load the list of names before you can scroll down to his name.) Quermann passed away on March 2, 1956. The Seattle Daily Times reported his death on March 4.
Comic-Strip Artist Dies
St. Louis, March 3.—(AP)—Walter Quermann, St. Louis Post-Dispatch staff artist and creator of the Sunday comic strip, “Hickory Hollow Folks,” died yesterday at Jewish Hospital after suffering a heart attack. He was 58.
The St. Louis Public Library has information about Quermann at the Central Library.
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Comments:
Quermann probably did not graduate:
St. Louis Globe Democrat obit has merely that "Mr Quermann had studied..." there, and the
Post-Dispatch obit is a bit more specific: "He...entered the Washington University School of Fine Arts where he studied for two and one-half years."
Also, according to these, he joined the Post-Dispatch in 1921.
Many thanks for that scan (more please!) & for the marriage license link.
Richard
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St. Louis Globe Democrat obit has merely that "Mr Quermann had studied..." there, and the
Post-Dispatch obit is a bit more specific: "He...entered the Washington University School of Fine Arts where he studied for two and one-half years."
Also, according to these, he joined the Post-Dispatch in 1921.
Many thanks for that scan (more please!) & for the marriage license link.
Richard
