Monday, February 26, 2024
Obscurity of the Day: The Adventures Abroad of Peleg Price, American
Cartoonist Frank Wing was a long-time fixture at the Minneapolis Journal, but gained national fame for his "Fotygraft Albums." These were a series of books of humorous 'photographs' -- actually vividly drawn wash cartoons -- with accompanying comedic comments by a family member who tries to explain them to the reader, who is supposedly visiting the home and looking through the family album. These books have aged surprisingly well, and I find them still quite funny. They're not terribly expensive on the used book market, and I think are well worth seeking out.
Long before that, when the Minneapolis Journal was producing an in-house page of comics each Sunday, Wing lowered himself to creating a comic strip series for the one and only time in his life. Sporting the hefty title of The Adventures Abroad of Peleg Price, American, it chronicled the misadventures of Peleg Price and his uncle Imri, a pair of bickering rubes who take the Grand Tour of Europe. Wing drew the strip in a fabulous clean line style and the humour was the match for any New York comic-stripper of the day you might wish to name.
The series began on December 12 1903 with Peleg and Imri saying goodbye to Wheat Corners, Minnesota. They made the whole tour, creating havoc in every European city they visited, and returned to America eight months later on August 20 1904, at which point the strip title changed to Peleg And Imri Return to America. After a few episodes in which they catch up on local doings, they got involved in a political primary campaign when Peleg is nominated to run for his (unnamed) party for Congress. Uncle Imri decides to run against him. On September 17 the strip title was updated once again, to The Campaign at Wheat Corners.
On November 12 1904 Peleg wins the nomination of his party and the series comes to an abrupt end. The next week the Journal began running a page of Hearst-produced strips instead of their homegrown material.
Labels: Obscurities
