Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Louise Hirsch

Louise Hirsch was born around 1905 in Bucharest, Romania according to census and marriage records. 

The 1920 United States Census counted Hirsch, her parents, Harry and Tobie, and sister, Mollie, in Cleveland, Ohio at 2426 East 57th Street. Her father was an operator in the suspenders trade. He came to the U.S. in 1905 and the rest of his family followed in 1906.

In the 1925 New York state census, Hirsch and her parents lived in Brooklyn at 1161 54th Street. Her father was naturalized on July 30, 1912 and worked as a mail order house manager. Hirsch was a stenographer. Cartoonist Samuel Maxwell “Jerry” Iger also resided in Brooklyn at 3023 East 6th Street which was about four-and-a-half miles away from Hirsch. How they met is not known.

American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Hirsch drew two series for the Paramount Newspaper Feature Service. The Charlie Chirps panel started on October 29, 1927 and ended sometime later. Tessie Tish ran from December 22, 1927 to July 19, 1928. Information about her art training has not been found. Paramount Newspaper Feature Service also distributed Iger’s The Gang, Larry Silverman’s In Jungle Land, Geoff Hayes’ After the Honeymoon, Gus Standard’s Ham and Beans, Jack Ward’s Flaming Youth, and Frank Little’s Spike and Sam. 

The Brooklyn Sunday Star, December 11, 1927, announced Hirsch and Iger’s engagement. 

The engagement of the two cartoonists, Miss Louise Hirsch (above) to Sam Iger, created quite a bit of interest in newspaper circles. Miss Hirsch is the creator of “Tessie Tish,” the clever comic adventures of a country girl, and Mr. Iger is the originator of that delightful “kid” strip, “The Gang,” both of which appear in the Brooklyn Sunday Star every week. Congrats!!!

The New York, New York Marriage License Index, at Ancestry.com, said Hirsch and Iger obtained, in Brooklyn on October 5, 1928, marriage license number 17609. They married on October 14 and were issued certificate number 13916. 

According to the 1930 census, Hirsch and Iger lived with her parents in Brooklyn at 2244 East 14th Street (same address on the marriage certificate). She was unemployed while he was an advertising cartoonist. At some point they divorced. 

Hirsch continued cartooning to some degree. A letter in the New York Daily Worker, August 2, 1937, objected to Hirsch’s portrayal of Blacks.

The East Side News is at the New York Public Library, 

Schwarzman Building M1 – Microforms Room 315, 

call number *ZAN-G122 v. 15-17 (Oct. 3, 1936-Apr. 30, 1938).

According to the 1940 census, Hirsch, her parents, sister and brother-in-law were Brooklyn residents at 75 Lenox Road. Hirsch was a typist who earned $892 in 1939. She had two years of high school education. Her sister, Merle, married Gustave Schram in 1925. They divorced in 1945. 

Hirsch’s father passed away on January 15, 1950.

The 1950 census said Miami, Florida was home for Hirsch, her mother and sister. Their address was 122 SW 20th Avenue. Hirsch was a secretary at a charity organization. 

The Florida Death Index and Social Security Death Index have a possible match for Hirsch. Florida said Hirsch was born on November 27, 1904 and died on February 9, 1973. Social Security recorded the birth as November 23, 1904 and death in February 1973. 

The Florida Death Index said Hirsch’s mother passed away on December 25, 1978, and Merle on July 12, 1995.