Obscurity of the Day: Gertie Grafte

Here is a diamond in the rough that ran sporadically in Pulitzer's New York Evening World from December 26 1907 to May 2 1908. Gertie Grafte ran there only seven times, and that's a real shame. Mr. R. E. Dorsey, whoever he was, had a real touch for humor, and his drawing, though a bit primitive, has a wonderfully fluid animated quality to it. Just look at Bill's poses in the top strip -- they succeed in polishing this rather tired gag into something quite delightful.

Unfortunately, Gertie Grafte is the only known comic strip series penned by Mr. Dorsey. Notice that he didn't even bother to sign these strips! I only hope that he kept with his art and made a name for himself in some way with it.Or ... am I crazy or does this fellow's style have more than a passing similarity to Leighton Budd's -- you can compare with Yours Truly, The Tumblebug Brothers.