Stripper's Guide

Sorry about bringing you in here at the middle of the Arno story, do have earlier clippings but they're lost somewhere in the paper bizzard. The article does bring you up to date, though.

A second tangential interest to comics historians here in these stories; Cornelius Vanderbilt for a short while ran his own newspaper syndicate (the CV Syndicate, appropriately), which included several comic strips in their offerings.

6/19/1931
Vanderbilt's Tale Myth, Says Counsel
Lawyers for Arno and Mrs. Vanderbilt Give New Version of Clash

Reno, Nev., June 18 - An entirely new version of the trouble between Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr, author, and Peter Arno, New York illustrator, was told tonight by William Woodburn, attorney for Mrs. Vanderbilt, as a pending separation suit was dismissed.

Woodburn's statement preceded a scheduled conference of Sam Platt, attorney for Vanderbilt, and himself, on the separate maintenance suit Mrs. Vanderbilt intends to file. The conference was postponed until Friday.

Vanderbilt claimed he chased Arno from his home Monday morning and tried to fire at the cartoonist, but his revolver was empty. Arno has denied knowledge of the chase.

"Mr. Arno and Mrs. Vanderbilt arrived home Sunday morning from a party at the home of mutual friends," Woodburn said. "Before Mr. Vanderbilt arrived home they were in the house talking.

"When Mr. Vanderbilt entered the three of them talked amiably. Then Arno went home, parting as a friend.

"The next day Mr. Vanderbilt telephone Mr. Arno, threatening to pump him full of lead.

"Mr. Vanderbilt also threatened to shoot Mrs. Vanderbilt. Monday night Mr. Arno and True Vencill, a friend of Mrs. Vanderbilt came to my house to see me about it. The next day Mr. Arno told the police."

Woodburn and Clyde Souther, attorney for Arno, both said they believed the whole affair had been fabricated by Vanderbilt. Souther added:

"Arno believes in justice and his discussion will be limited to the mere statement of fact that his relation to Mrs. Vanderbilt has always been eminently proper."

6/30/31
Lois Long Divorces Arno, Cartoonist
Writer-Wife Cites Cruelty; Husband is Accused in Vanderbilt Case

Reno, Nev., June 29 - Lois Long, writer-wife of Peter Arno, obtained a divorce from the cartoonist here today on a cross complaint, which charged that she lived in "abject terror" of Arno because he was violently abusive on "hundreds of occasions."

Miss Long did not personally appear in court, her testimony being offered by deposition.

Arno was there, however. His only witness was True Vencill, at whose home Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr. had been staying since she separated from Vanderbilt after a quarrel, a fortnight ago, over attentions Arno was allegedly paying her. Vencill established proof of Arno's residence in Reno for a six weeks' period.

Within two months after their marriage at Stamford, Conn., on August 12, 1927, Arno became subject to "outbursts of jealousy," his wife's deposition said.

On one occasion, she alleged, he dragged her from a table at which she was dining with a friend, and there were "several occasions" when he struck her. They separated November 10, 1930.

Arno will pay $8,000 alimony the first year, $7,000 for each of the two succeeding years, and $6,000 a year thereafter. Two hundred dollars a month is to go to support of their daughter, Patricia, whose custody will be divided.

Arno, whose true name is Curtis Peters, Jr., expects to remain here for another week, and then go to Los Angeles. He had no comment to make on any future matrimonial ventures.

7/4/31
Arno Slips, Falls In Vanderbilt Row
One Blow Lands and Men are Separated at Chance Reno Meeting

Reno, Nev., July 3 - George E. Killmer, head of a private protective association, said Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., and Peter Arno, the noted cartoonist accused by Vanderbilt of breaking up his home, fought at a chance meeting at a railway station here early today.

Killmer said Vanderbilt had gone to the station "to bid good-by to Logan Billingsiea, president of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, New York.

After they had passed each other several times hostilitiess began. Killmer related, when Arno descended from a railway coach, in appearance "retaining an insulting grin." The officer said Mrs. Vanderbilt's name was used by the two men, but that he "could not get them." Vanderbilt was declared to have struck Arno, who slipped and fell, after which the men were separated.

11/7/33
Peter Arno Takes Count in Dispute With Entertainer

Hollywood, Nov. 6 - The New Yorker cartoonist, Peter Arno, was knocked "cold" in an Embassy Club fist fight today while celebrities looked on.

Somebody planted a "haymaker" on his chin. The knockout followed words between him and Drexel Biddle Steel, entertainer and actor from Philadelphia, who was giving a supper party for Claire Delmar, Swiss actress.

Steel denied he delivered the potent poke and Sally O'Neill, actress, companion of Arno at the club denied reports that she belabored Steel with a chair. Steel said Arno was struck by Gordon Butler, Steel's business manager.

Arno, who once had a sensational altercation with Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., said he was struck by Butler after he, Arno, had seized Steel and "popped him" for "annoying my women guests, Miss Sally O'Neill and another young woman."

Among those at the scene were Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone and Mr. and Mrs. Clark Gable.

Miss O'Neill verified Steel's statement that it was another man who struck Arno. She said her impression was that the "other man" struck her companion on the chin from the rear, which the ringsiders agreed would have been quite a feat. One version was that Steel drew back to "paste" Arno, but that someone beat him to the punch.

Steel Wires Statement

Steel wired to New York a statement indicating he became incensed at something Arno said after Steel introduced him to Miss Delmar. Steel said Arno approached the Delmar party table and "accused me (Steel) of knowing him when his name was Curtis Peters, interior decorator for Gilda Gray."

"I arose and presented him to Miss Delmar, which she acknowledged," said Steel. "That was not enough for him and I explained at that moment there was just one thing he lacked - besides being born a man he had failed being born a gentleman.

"Mr. Gordon Butler, when Mr. Arno made a pass at me, stepped in to defend not only Miss Delmar but me, and sent Mr. Arno sailing across the dance floor, much to Miss Delmar's amusement and to Mr. Arno's surprise."

Miss O'Neill said she supposed the way the report started that she hit Steel with a chair was that Steel stood near Arno with a chair in hand and after the knockout and that she rushed over in an attempt to prevent further toruble.

Arno Tells His Side

"Last night at the club," said Arno, "Steel came to my table and I told him to cut out talk about his being an intimate friend of mine and that I was going in business with him.

"He went back to his table. A few minutes after that I went over to the orchestra leader and agreed to play the piano. While I was playing I saw Steel had returned to my table and was annoying my women guests.

"I walked back over to the table, grabbed him, pushed him back over to his table and then popped hiim. As I did so, this man Gordon Butler - Steel has a butler - smacked me on the side of the head and I went down.

"While this was going on Steel raised a chair and made for me. Miss O'Neill rushed in between us.

"The next time I see Drexel Biddle Steel," Arno added, "I'm going to hang one on him that he won't forget for a long time."

There were no hard feelings held by Steel.

Butler admitted modestly he was the hero of the occasion.

Labels: News of Yore

We left off yesterday at the end of 1929, when Dan Smith's long reign on one of the Hearst magazine covers was coming to an end. The thread of this series continues after Smith's departure, now featuring some of my favorite 'comic strip' magazine cover series. Of course, in the magazine cover world, they aren't formatted like strips so much as a series of vignettes, but they tell a story from 'panel' to 'panel', so I say they're strips.

Dan Smith's Pancho Rancho ends on December 15 1929, and I can't figure out from any paper what was supposed to appear on December 22. So our index starts on December 29 1929, and still comes from the Montana Standard. You'll see some familiar titles here, as some have been covered on the Stripper's Guide blog.

We begin with the last four installments of a series titled High-Hat Hattie, which seems to have been stuck into this series from another to fill a hole. We'll cover that series again in its entirety later in another index. This is another good indication that this particular magazine cover series was in a state of flux, if not utter disarray. Was the end of Dan Smith's tenure unexpected, and they were caught scrambling?

 

Date	Title	Artist	Syndicate
12/29/29	High-hat Hattie	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
1/5/30	High-hat Hattie	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
1/12/30	High-hat Hattie	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
1/19/30	High-hat Hattie	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
1/26/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
2/2/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
2/9/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
2/16/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
2/23/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
3/2/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
3/9/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
3/16/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
3/23/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
3/30/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
4/6/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
4/13/30	Sunday Follies	L.T.Holton	Newspaper Feature Service
4/20/30	Campus Capers	Virginia Huget	Newspaper Feature Service
4/27/30	Campus Capers	Virginia Huget	Newspaper Feature Service
5/4/30	Campus Capers	Virginia Huget	Newspaper Feature Service
5/11/30	Campus Capers	Virginia Huget	Newspaper Feature Service
5/18/30	Campus Capers	Virginia Huget	Newspaper Feature Service
5/25/30	Campus Capers	Virginia Huget	Newspaper Feature Service
6/1/30	Campus Capers	Virginia Huget	Newspaper Feature Service
6/8/30	Campus Capers	Virginia Huget	Newspaper Feature Service
6/15/30	Campus Capers	Virginia Huget	Newspaper Feature Service
6/22/30	Campus Capers	Virginia Huget	Newspaper Feature Service
6/29/30	What Price Vacation	Jack Welch	Newspaper Feature Service
7/6/30	What Price Vacation	Jack Welch	Newspaper Feature Service
7/13/30	What Price Vacation	Jack Welch	Newspaper Feature Service
7/20/30	What Price Vacation	Jack Welch	Newspaper Feature Service
7/27/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
8/3/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
8/10/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
8/17/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
8/24/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
8/31/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
9/7/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
9/14/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
9/21/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
9/28/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
10/5/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
10/12/30	Desert Love	Dan Smith	Newspaper Feature Service
10/19/30	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
10/26/30	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
11/2/30	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
11/9/30	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
11/16/30	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
11/23/30	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
11/30/30	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
12/7/30	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
12/14/30	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
12/21/30	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
12/28/30	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
1/4/31	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
1/11/31	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
1/18/31	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
1/25/31	Betty's Office Romance	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
2/1/31	Hearts and Clubs	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
2/8/31	Hearts and Clubs	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
2/15/31	Hearts and Clubs	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
2/22/31	Hearts and Clubs	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
3/1/31	The March Girl	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
3/8/31	Pretty as a Picture	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
3/15/31	Signs of Spring	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
3/22/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
3/29/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service
4/5/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	Newspaper Feature Service

At this point the Montana Standard craps out on me. Luckily I find that the Philadelphia Inquirer stuck with this particular magazine series, and ran the series on time, thus keeping my index looking nicely consistent.

The Inquirer, though, displays copyrights not to NFS but to King Features. I compared material from the two papers, and yes, one credited the same covers to King as the other did to NFS! There's proof that the whole "track the cover series by their syndicate stamps" is a rule that will just lead you down the garden path.



 

Date	Title	Artist	Syndicate
4/12/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
4/19/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
4/26/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
5/3/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
5/10/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
5/17/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
5/24/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
5/31/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
6/7/31	Sally's So Sentimental	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
6/14/31	Oh, You, Patricia	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
6/21/31	Oh, You, Patricia	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
6/28/31	Oh, You, Patricia	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
7/5/31	Oh, You, Patricia	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
7/12/31	Oh, You, Patricia	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
7/19/31	Oh, You, Patricia	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
7/26/31	Winky's Week-Ends	Jefferson Machamer	King Features Syndicate
8/2/31	Winky's Week-Ends	Jefferson Machamer	King Features Syndicate
8/9/31	Winky's Week-Ends	Jefferson Machamer	King Features Syndicate
8/16/31	Winky's Week-Ends	Jefferson Machamer	King Features Syndicate
8/23/31	Winky's Week-Ends	Jefferson Machamer	King Features Syndicate
8/30/31	Winky's Week-Ends	Jefferson Machamer	King Features Syndicate
9/6/31	Winky's Week-Ends	Jefferson Machamer	King Features Syndicate
9/13/31	Winky's Week-Ends	Jefferson Machamer	King Features Syndicate
9/20/31	Winky's Week-Ends	Jefferson Machamer	King Features Syndicate
9/27/31	Winky's Week-Ends	Jefferson Machamer	King Features Syndicate
10/4/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
10/11/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
10/18/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
10/25/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
11/1/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
11/8/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
11/15/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
11/22/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
11/29/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
12/6/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
12/13/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
12/20/31	Let's Run Away	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
12/27/31	Shirley's Millions	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
1/3/32	Shirley's Millions	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
1/10/32	Shirley's Millions	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
1/17/32	Shirley's Millions	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
1/24/32	Shirley's Millions	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
1/31/32	Shirley's Millions	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
2/7/32	Shirley's Millions	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
2/14/32	Shirley's Millions	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
2/21/32	Many Happy Returns	George F. Kerr	King Features Syndicate
2/28/32	Shirley's Millions	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
3/6/32	Shirley's Millions	Philip Loring	King Features Syndicate
3/13/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
3/20/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
3/27/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
4/3/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
4/10/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
4/17/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
4/24/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
5/1/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
5/8/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
5/15/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
5/22/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
5/29/32	Don't Tell Auntie	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
6/5/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
6/12/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
6/19/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
6/26/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
7/3/32	Independence Day	Louis Biedermann	King Features Syndicate
7/10/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
7/17/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
7/24/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
7/31/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
8/7/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
8/14/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
8/21/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
8/28/32	Sylvia the Deb Detective	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
9/4/32	Sylvia Vamps the Villain (Sylvia the Deb Detective)	R.F.James	King Features Syndicate
9/11/32	Romance of a Stolen Jewel (Sylvia the Deb Detective)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
9/18/32	At the End of Her Rope (Sylvia the Deb Detective)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
9/25/32	Oops, Good Bye Jewel (Sylvia the Deb Detective)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
10/2/32	Jeweled Claws! What a Bird! (Sylvia the Deb Detective)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
10/9/32	Fair Exchange, No Robbery (Sylvia the Deb Detective)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
10/16/32	The Scimitar on the Stairs (Sylvia the Deb Detective)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
10/23/32	Jewels and Wedding Bells (Sylvia the Deb Detective)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
10/30/32	The Gold Cobweb by Charles Samuels (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
11/6/32	The Gold Cobweb by Charles Samuels (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
11/13/32	The Gold Cobweb by Charles Samuels (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
11/20/32	The Gold Cobweb by Charles Samuels (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
11/27/32	The Gold Cobweb by Charles Samuels (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
12/4/32	The Gold Cobweb by Charles Samuels (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
12/11/32	To Meet Miss Mary Christmas (story illo, writer uncredited)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
12/18/32	To Meet Miss Mary Christmas (story illo, writer uncredited)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
12/25/32	The Real Christmas Story of the Best-Loved Christmas Carol (aticle illo)	Louis Biedermann	King Features Syndicate
1/1/33	Beware the Blonde by Arthur Mason (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
1/8/33	Beware the Blonde by Arthur Mason (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
1/15/33	Beware the Blonde by Arthur Mason (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
1/22/33	Beware the Blonde by Arthur Mason (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
1/29/33	Beware the Blonde by Arthur Mason (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
2/5/33	Beware the Blonde by Arthur Mason (story illo)	R.F. James	King Features Syndicate
2/12/33	The Princess From Nowhere	Nell Brinkley	King Features Syndicate
2/19/33	The Princess From Nowhere	Nell Brinkley	King Features Syndicate
2/26/33	The Princess From Nowhere	Nell Brinkley	King Features Syndicate
3/5/33	The Princess From Nowhere	Nell Brinkley	King Features Syndicate
3/12/33	The Princess From Nowhere	Nell Brinkley	King Features Syndicate
3/19/33	The Princess From Nowhere	Nell Brinkley	King Features Syndicate
3/26/33	The Princess From Nowhere	Nell Brinkley	King Features Syndicate
4/2/33	The Princess From Nowhere	Nell Brinkley	King Features Syndicate
4/9/33	The Princess From Nowhere	Nell Brinkley	King Features Syndicate
4/16/33	Juliet a la Jazz	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
4/23/33	Juliet a la Jazz	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
4/30/33	Juliet a la Jazz	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
5/7/33	Juliet a la Jazz	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
5/14/33	Juliet a la Jazz	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
5/21/33	Juliet a la Jazz	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
5/28/33	The Ambassador	Otto Soglow	King Features Syndicate
6/4/33	The Ambassador	Otto Soglow	King Features Syndicate
6/11/33	The Ambassador	Otto Soglow	King Features Syndicate
6/18/33	The Ambassador	Otto Soglow	King Features Syndicate
6/25/33	The Ambassador	Otto Soglow	King Features Syndicate
7/2/33	The Ambassador	Otto Soglow	King Features Syndicate
7/9/33	The Ambassador	Otto Soglow	King Features Syndicate
7/16/33	The Ambassador	Otto Soglow	King Features Syndicate
7/23/33	The Ambassador	Otto Soglow	King Features Syndicate
7/30/33	Around Town with the Whoops Sisters	Peter Arno	King Features Syndicate
8/6/33	Around Town with the Whoops Sisters	Peter Arno	King Features Syndicate
8/13/33	Around Town with the Whoops Sisters	Peter Arno	King Features Syndicate
8/20/33	Around Town with the Whoops Sisters	Peter Arno	King Features Syndicate
8/27/33	Around Town with the Whoops Sisters	Peter Arno	King Features Syndicate
9/3/33	Around Town with the Whoops Sisters	Peter Arno	King Features Syndicate
9/10/33	Around Town with the Whoops Sisters	Peter Arno	King Features Syndicate
9/17/33	Around Town with the Whoops Sisters	Peter Arno	King Features Syndicate
9/24/33	Mitzi the Model	James Montgomery Flagg	King Features Syndicate
10/1/33	Mitzi the Model	James Montgomery Flagg	King Features Syndicate
10/8/33	Mitzi the Model	James Montgomery Flagg	King Features Syndicate
10/15/33	Mitzi the Model	James Montgomery Flagg	King Features Syndicate
10/22/33	Mitzi the Model	James Montgomery Flagg	King Features Syndicate
10/29/33	Mitzi the Model	James Montgomery Flagg	King Features Syndicate
11/5/33	Mitzi the Model	James Montgomery Flagg	King Features Syndicate
11/12/33	Mitzi the Model	James Montgomery Flagg	King Features Syndicate
11/19/33	Betty's Blue Eagle	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
11/26/33	Betty's Blue Eagle	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
12/3/33	Betty's Blue Eagle	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
12/10/33	Betty's Blue Eagle	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
12/17/33	Betty's Blue Eagle	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
12/24/33	Betty's Blue Eagle	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
12/31/33	Betty's Blue Eagle	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
1/7/34	Betty's Blue Eagle	Russell Patterson	King Features Syndicate
1/14/34	Lucky Lady	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
1/21/34	Lucky Lady	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
1/28/34	Lucky Lady	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
2/4/34	Lucky Lady	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
2/11/34	Girls I Adore (text by Alice-Leone Moats)	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
2/18/34	Girls I Adore (text by Alice-Leone Moats)	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
2/25/34	Girls I Adore (text by Alice-Leone Moats)	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
3/4/34	Girls I Adore (text by Alice-Leone Moats)	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
3/11/34	Girls I Adore (text by Alice-Leone Moats)	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
3/18/34	Girls I Adore (text by Alice-Leone Moats)	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
3/25/34	Lucky Lady (verses by Berton Braley)	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
4/1/34	Lucky Lady (verses by Berton Braley)	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
4/8/34	Lucky Lady (verses by Berton Braley)	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
4/15/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
4/22/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
4/29/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
5/6/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
5/13/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
5/20/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
5/27/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
6/3/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
6/10/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
6/17/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
6/24/34	Lucky Lady	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
7/1/34	Lucky Lady	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
7/8/34	Lucky Lady	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
7/15/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
7/22/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
7/29/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
8/5/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
8/12/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
8/19/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
8/26/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
9/2/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
9/9/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
9/16/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
9/23/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
9/30/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
10/7/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
10/14/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
10/21/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
10/28/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
11/4/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
11/11/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
11/18/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
11/25/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
12/2/34	Lucky Lady	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
12/9/34	Lucky Lady	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
12/16/34	Lucky Lady	John Held Jr.	King Features Syndicate
12/23/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate
12/30/34	Glamorous Girls	McClelland Barclay	King Features Syndicate

Okay, that's enough for one post. We'll pick up here tomorrow with 1935 and on.

Labels: Magazine Cover Comics

On three consecutive years Oppenheim sailed to Europe; according to the passenger lists, in 1932 she lived at 87 Vassar Avenue, Newark, New Jersey; in 1933 at 1 University Place, Apartment 19D, New York, New York; and in 1934 at 299 West 12th Street, New York, New York. The Times, June 7, 1936, said she was a member of the Cartoonists Guild of America, which formed in March 1936. Evidently King Features was impressed by her work and syndicated her panel Diary of a Good Girl in 1937.

The 1940s began badly for Oppenheim, who has not been found in the 1940 census. The Times, January 31, 1940, reported she had filed a petition for bankruptcy: “Mildred Oppenheim, freelance artist, 383 Central Park West—Liabilities, $3,714; no assets.” However, she recovered quickly with her advertising panel, Around Town with Melisse, which featured Ohrbach’s, a department store. The campaign drew the attention of Life magazine, June 23, 1941. Less than a month later, Sales Management, July 15, 1941, reported the campaign’s genesis.

Meet Melisse
New York has a new glamour girl…Melisse of Orbach’s [sic]. The little blonde bomber made her debut in the local press a while ago, and has been wowing her female fans as well as the buying stag lines ever since. Orbach’s [sic] is a self-service clothing store which is currently trying to “trade up.” The store uses no merchandise ads, but runs full page institutionals instead

When Easter was past, and the regular campaign ended, General Merchandise Manager Jerry Orbach [sic] got together with commercial artist Mildred Oppenheim, and cooked up a series of ads, “Around Town with Melisse.” The cartoon ads were placed in all major local papers…anywhere from two to five times a week. Readers soon began to follow the adventures of Melisse as devotedly as they do “Tillie the Toiler,” etc.

Melisse is not only charming, but is a breadwinner as well…having more than earned her keep in luring the smart money crowd to the local store. The campaign has attracted such wide attention that Life magazine recently devoted several pages to her. This is the first time Life has ever featured an advertising campaign. In addition, it is now rumored that Melisse might even have her own debutante department at Orbach’s [sic] one of these days. Hers is the story of a small space advertising campaign which made good.

Grey Advertising is the agency. 

The success of Around Town led to syndication as reported in the New York Post, February 27, 1942:

Melisse to Syndicate Cartoon Advertising
Melisse, creator of the cartoon advertising “Around Town With Melisse,” will syndicate the feature throughout the country on the basis of one leading store in a trading area, it was announced today.

Arrangements are being handled exclusively by the Melisse headquarters at 59 West 44th St. Additional promotional helps for subscribers such as Melisse mannequins for window and counter displays, clothing designs and seasonal ideas are contemplated.

Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles

When the U.S. entered World War II there came a pressing need for alcohol in various industrial capacities. Therefore the government curtailed much of the private alcohol production for human consumption. Luckily there was no immediate danger of running out of spirits entirely, because Ireland was still producing and exporting whiskey, and many American liquor companies, reading the writing on the wall, had reserved quite a bit of their production for just such a situation.

The smartest distillers stockpiled not whiskeys, rums, and other specific spirits, but instead created stores of 'neutral spirits' -- grain alcohol -- which they could use to blend with smaller stockpiles of American whiskeys and imported Irish spirits. What was produced was then termed a 'blend', and while it was universally reviled as rotgut, well, beggars can't be choosers, and so Americans held their noses, lived with pounding headaches the morning after, and kept on drinking.

Spirits were advertised heavily during the war, generally with the marketing hype trying to convince buyers that their brand was just as good as the pre-war stuff -- which of course it wasn't. Calvert was on that bandwagon, and they came up with a long-term newspaper campaign for Calvert Reserve Blended Whiskey that interests us here on Stripper's Guide. Starting in January 1942, they inaugurated a series titled Metropolitan Moments, featuring cartoons by some of the leading lights of the magazine gag cartoon world.

In the samples above, you see  a roughly chronological sampling of the Metropolitan Moments ad campaign. We start with Jaro Fabry, the great magazine 'pretty girl' cover artist, who provided almost all of the cartoons through about September 1942. Then he disappeared, and the panel was taken over by someone pseudonymously identified as "Wisdom". Wisdom's work is sort of generic New Yorker style of the day, with elements of William Steig, Charles Addams and Peter Arno. Would love it if someone could offer a positive ID on this fellow.

"Wisdom" was credited with all of the panels through 1944, then the byline changed to "Ely". Ely's work sure looks a lot like Wisdom's to me, so I'm not sure why the credit was changed. The main difference I do see is that Ely had a fondness for a clubby, tuxedoed older gentleman who became a regular in the cartoons during his tenure.

In 1945, the panel got much more interesting. All of a sudden there were other cartoonists contributing, mostly really high-end New Yorker level folks. I've found panels by Abner Dean, Chon Day and Garrett Price, as well as a lesser known fellow named Herbert Roese, and someone with whom I'm unfamiliar, who went by the moniker H. Williamson. The new star of the show, though, was the great Richard Taylor, who produced far more of the panels than anyone else.

The panel finally stopped appearing in May 1947 after a five and a half year run. In some papers the panels appeared almost daily, others got them much less often. However, don't take that to mean that somehow the cartoonists came up with 300-odd different gags concerning Calvert Reserve Whiskey each year. The panels were definitely re-used, though based on my own collection there sure were a lot of different panels to choose from -- definitely in the realm of the hundreds.

Labels: Advertising Strips

Cleanthe Kimball Carr was born on April 9, 1911, in Middletown, New Jersey, according to her Social Security application. Her parents were Eugene G. “Gene” Carr, the cartoonist, and Helen G, Stilwell. In the 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Carr’s parents were Middletown residents on Riverside Drive.

The 1915 New York state census recorded Carr, her parents, a nurse and cook at 66 Tennis Place in Forest Hills, Queens.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 28, 1919, said Carr was one of over a hundred children who were guests at the annual Easter Week activities in the Forest Hills Inn.

In the 1920 census, the Carr family remained in Forest Hills at a different location, the Gardens Apartments on Dartmouth Street.

Carr’s verse was published in the Brooklyn Daily Star, March 28, 1921.

The Fly Peril.
Flies walk on the dirtiest things,
And then right on your plate.
If you eat some germs they carry around,
Death surely would be your fate.

Kill the vile old things with all your might
Before the summer heat.
They shall not walk upon my skin
Nor poison what I eat.

Carr’s artistic talent was noted in the Editor & Publisher, March 4, 1922.

Miss Cleanthe Carr, daughter of Gene Carr, creator of the “Metropolitan Movies” cartoon feature of the New York World, is following in her father's footsteps toward an art career. She is a pupil at Miss Devell’s School and her work is represented in an exhibition of landscape and animal work now being shown at that institution.

Carr and her mother returned from Europe, by way of Le Havre, France, on October 22, 1922.

Carr and her mother, a writer, were Manhattan, New York City residents at 8 East Ninth Street. Apparently Carr’s parents were separated.

Carr’s talent was recognized again by the Associated Press 1927 article, published in numerous papers including the Niagara Falls Gazette.

Convent Girl, 14, Draws Caricatures of Film Notables of Hollywood
Hollywood, (Cal.)., Sept. 27, (AP)—Every now and then some artist from South America or Mexico of France breezes into Hollywood and fascinates the natives with caricatures of screen celebrities.

Fourteen-year-old [sic] Cleanthe Carr came from a Pennsylvania convent, unheralded by the magazines or newspapers. Nor did she even know herself that she was going to cartoon the famous faces of filmdom.

But she had to amuse herself while spending the Summer vacation with her mother, who is a scenario reader, so she looked around and drew pictures of the stars.

Now critics hail Cleanthe as a genius. She is going back to New York soon to finish her preparatory school course, and plans to begin studying art under instructors then. Although her father, Gene Carr, is a successful cartoonist, Cleanthe has not taken any lessons from anyone.

“Except a few at the convent,” she explains, “but I dropped that course in a hurry because I was scolded for not putting enough clothes on my figures.”

Cleanthe was born in Red Bank, N.J., but lived there only a year. When not at school she is usually with her aunt in Brooklyn or in California with her mother.

Carr and her mother visited Europe again in the summer of 1929.

According to the 1930 census, Carr’s mother was a divorcee. She and her mother lived at 160 East 55 Street in Manhattan. Carr was a self-employed commercial artist.

Carr and her mother returned from France on October 16, 1929.

The New York Evening Post, November 2, 1931, reported the death of “Sigmund M. Lehman, brother of Lieutenant Governor Lehman and member of the banking firm of Lehman Brothers, who died in Paris in April, 1930”. Carr was a beneficiary of his estate: “… a temporary life estate in $20,000 to Cleanthe Carr, payable at the age of twenty-four, …”

The Newspaper Feature Service produced a long-running series of romantic cartoons, by several artists, beginning in 1913. Carr contributed to the series in 1934.

The Albany Times Union (New York), April 4, 1935, published an article about identifying the handsomest man in the world. Among the people consulted were artists.

… Neysa McMein, and Cleanthe Carr, artists, found themselves unable to name their selections. Miss McMein pleaded that several years ago she made up a list of handsome men, and that she never had been able to live it down. Miss Carr, daughter of Gene Carr, declared she had never seen an outstandingly handsome man.

But Russell Patterson, famous artist, after much consideration, came forth with this list:

No. 1. Hal Phyfe, New York photographer,
No. 2. Peter Arno, artist.
No. 3, James Montgomery Flagg, artist.

The Syracuse Journal, September 19, 1935, published a photograph of Carr with her drawing of Huey Long. 


The Buffalo Courier Express, August 15, 1939, said “Newest Hollywood ‘must’ is to have a portrait painted by Cleanthe Carr, niece of Kim Moran.”

The gossip column in the Tacoma News Tribune, November 17, 1940, said “When Charlie Chaplin got around to introducing Paulette as ‘my wife’ in New York they were staying at separate hotels. And Chollie did the big town with Cleanthe Carr.”

In the late 1930s Carr moved to California. The portrait artist’s address in the 1940 census was 6470 Ivarene Avenue in Los Angeles. Lodging with Carr and her mother was Lionel Braham, 61, an actor and singer in motion pictures.

The California Marriage Index, at Ancestry.com, said Carr married Samuel Weill, on August 12, 1960 in Monterey, California. Who’s Who in Finance and Industry (1999) said Weill was an automobile company executive and Carr was his second wife. They divorced July 21, 1982 in Los Angeles.

Carr passed away October 1, 2001, in Los Angeles, according to the Social Security Death Index.

 
—Alex Jay

Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles

Richard Lippincott Denison Taylor was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada, on September 18, 1902, according to Who’s Who in American Art, Volume 9 (1953). A family tree at Ancestry.com said Taylor was named after his father. Taylor’s early years and career were told in Current Biography Yearbook, Volume 2 (1941).

…[Taylor] was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada, of English descent on his father’s side; Scottish-Dutch on his mother’s. As a child he was always drawing, and at 12 he began his formal art education “under a conservative landscape and figure painter, an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy.” Later Taylor studied at the Ontario College of Art and the Los Angeles School of Art and Design. “No university education. No degrees. No honors.” Throughout school, he confesses, he was very dull in everything but history and literary composition, in which he got high marks; “had no mind whatever for mathematics or problems of any sort.”…

Taylor first began drawing cartoons in 1927 for the Goblin Magazine, a Toronto University publication which by that time had become a professional journal. He drew for it until it folded and then “lived precariously doing all sorts of commercial art in Toronto.” He painted in his spare time, successfully enough to exhibit with the Ontario Society of Artists and once with the Royal Canadian Academy, though he was never elected to membership in either body.

Lambiek Comiclopedia said Taylor drew the Mystery Men comic strip for the Toronto newspaper, Evening Telegram, in 1924.

A record of Taylor’s first entry into the United States has not been found at Ancestry.com. The 1910 U.S. Federal Census recorded Taylor and his parents in Los Angeles, California at 4075 Normandie Avenue. Taylor’s father was a real estate agent. Sometime after the census, Taylor returned to Canada.

Taylor’s next entry into the U.S. was at Port Huron, Michigan, July 24, 1917, according to the border crossing card at Ancestry.com. Taylor was accompanied by his mother. In Canada, his address was 96 Pinewood, Toronto, Ontario. His destination was to “Intr. Janet Young, 113 Curtis, Alhambra, California”. Taylor later returned to Canada.

On October 7, 1919, Taylor passed through Buffalo, New York. He had left Toronto on his way to his father in New York City at 1133 Broadway.

In the 1920 census, Taylor and his parents resided in Manhattan, New York City, at 608–610 West 139 Street. Taylor’s father was a manufacturer in the poultry food industry. Taylor was an art student. After the January census enumeration, Taylor returned to Canada. Passing through Niagara Falls, New York, on September 30, 1920, Taylor was on his way from Hamilton, Ontario, to Brooklyn, New York, at Bridgewater Street and Meeker Avenue. His contact in Hamilton was “Aunt, Mrs. Povis Herkimer”. Once again, Taylor returned to Canada.

The family tree said Taylor’s father passed away April 5, 1929.

American Artist, February, 1946, published “A Visit to ‘Worm’s End’” by Ernest W. Watson who profiled Taylor and explained how he became a cartoonist for the New Yorker magazine.

Now we come to 1935 and a change in the Taylor fortunes. A friend had written a book entitled, Worm’s End, a sort of adult’s Alice in Wonderland. Taylor read the manuscript and, convinced of its merit, proceeded to make forty drawings for it. These he did somewhat in the manner of Tenniel who had illustrated Lewis Carrol”s famous fantasy.

The pictures completed, Taylor wrapped them up with the manuscript, headed for New York and the publishing house of Simon and Schulster. The manuscript, which Taylor still thinks is good, did not impress the publishers; but his drawings did. Clifton Fadiman, who was then with that firm, was particularly encouraging; he told Taylor he ought to be drawing for the New Yorker and he even offered to show the Worm’s End drawings to its editors.

Awaiting word from the New Yorker, Taylor spent a few cheerless days in one of Manhattan’s cheap hotels and then, hearing nothing, returned disheartened to Toronto. In a few days, however, hope was rekindled by the receipt of a letter from the magazine inviting him to submit cartoons. He lost no time doing so; during the next six months he devoted himself almost exclusively to the drawing of New Yorker cartoons which, distressingly enough, didn’t get into the New Yorker. He was about to give up in despair when a check for $15 revived the spark of hope that he has managed to keep alive all those months. He had sold a drawing, if only a small spot, to the New Yorker!

That was the beginning. Soon more checks, bigger checks began arriving, and Taylor came to the conclusion that he ought to be nearer the source from which all blessings flow. Accordingly, in 1936 he bade farewell to Canada and set himself up on Port Chester, New York, forty miles from Manhattan. There he married Maxine MacTavish, daughter of Dr. Newton MacTavish onetime critic and former editor of the Canadian Magazine. This was about the smartest thing Taylor ever did, “Max” casts a critical eye upon all his drawings and tells him what, if anything, is wrong with them. He considers her judgment infallible.

A travel document with the 1935 date has not been found, but there is a border crossing card that recorded Taylor’s arrival in Buffalo on June 3, 1936. His address in Toronto was 632 Church. The card said he had been in New York City from 1921 to 1922, and his destination was “The New Yorker Magazine”.



The 1940 census said self-employed cartoonist Taylor and his wife lived in Bethel, Connecticut at 38 Putnam Park Road. In 1935 Taylor was a Toronto resident. His highest level of education was the eighth grade.

Life magazine, April 22, 1940, reported on the cartoon show at Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. Taylor was one of 39 cartoonists in the show. Art Digest, December 15, 1940, mentioned Taylor’s solo show.

Humor of Richard Taylor

Readers of The New Yorker who take special delight in the bug-eyed characters drawn by Richard Taylor will get many a chuckle out of the large show of his unpublished drawings on view at the Walker Galleries in New York through Dec. 28. The exhibition provides a happy hour backstage with a deft draftsman whose eye for humanity’s foibles is sure and keen. His pen, dipped in just enough acid, pierces the very core of fatuousness, pomposity and other frailties of our characters.

Taylor helped paint and decorate his neighbor’s house as covered in the September 13, 1943 issue of Life. A few weeks later, Taylor and a self-portrait were published in Life, October 25, 1943. Life, November 27, 1944, showed selected cartoons from the books of Virgil Partch, Rube Goldberg, William Steig, Peter Arno, and Taylor.

Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles