Stripper's Guide

Here's another card from that Marriner copycat we saw back in March. Just like the other one, there is no publisher credited, and the postmark (once again really faint) seems to be 1910.

Labels: Wish You Were Here

When World Color Printing began sharing many of  the Philadelphia Press Sunday comics (Hairbreadth Harry, Mrs. Timekiller, Clumsy Claude, etc.) in 1911, they were able to produce a complete four page Sunday section with very little additional content. Along with their flagship feature, Slim Jim, the only other comic strip they kept producing was Mr. Boss by an excellent cartoonist who signed himself 'Rutledge'.

Thanks to Alex Jay, we've already identified the mysterious Rutledge -- he is Frank Rutledge Leet, one of the mainstays in the NEA cartooning bullpen at this time, and obviously moonlighting at WCP for a few extra bucks.

Mr. Boss was a pretty good strip, with highly animated barnyard animals the characters, and a typically egotistical rooster getting star billing. Lots of raucous physical humor with a minimum of gabbing makes this one a winner.

Mr. Boss began in the WCP section on November 14 1909, and survived the great content purge of 1911. The strip kept running until May 18 1913, when Leet decided to try something different. His new strip was called Duke -- a real stinker of a strip about a pony.

In my book you'll see this strip listed as Mr. Boss and Mr. Reynard, and a note there says that the Mr. Reynard character began to get co-billing in late 1911 or early 1912. Okay, so I don't know what sort of wacky weed I was smoking that day, but I can no longer find any evidence that a Mr. Reynard was a character in the strip except once on February 19 1911. So it's time to get the ol' Marks-a-Lot out, and do some surgery on that listing. Everything else is okay, but drop Mr. Reynard from the title and black out my completely errant comment.

Labels: Obscurities

Lauren O. Stout was born on June 4, 1887, in Winston, Missouri, according to his World War I and II draft cards. In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Stout was the youngest of two sons born to S.H. and Barbara. His father was a stone mason. They resided in Kansas City, Missouri at 1918 East 14th Street.



Information about Stout’s art training has not been found. The Kansas city directories from 1902 to 1909 listed Stout as an artist living at 1624 Jackson Avenue. The same address was recorded in the 1910 census and city directory. Stout was a newspaper illustrator who lived with his widow mother. The 1911 directory said Stout’s occupation was printer.
At some point, Stout moved to New York City. On November 3, 1914, Stout was issued a passport. His address was 136 West 65th Street, the same as illustrator Ralph Barton, a Missouri native, who was issued a passport the same day. A profile of Barton in The New Yorker said he was in Paris in 1915; presumably, Stout was with him.

During 1914, Stout’s illustrated the serialized story, “The Valiants of Virginia”, which ran in many newspapers.

On June 5, 1917, Stout signed his World War draft card. His address was 137 West 70 Street in Manhattan. His description was tall, slight build with brown eyes and black hair. Stout’s service began September 6 with the New York National Guard, Company E, 107th Infantry. Stout was overseas from May 10, 1918 to March 6, 1919. He was discharged April 2, 1919.

Stout was profiled in The Seventh Regiment Gazette, May 1918 (below) and mentioned in the July 1918 issue.

Stout has not yet been found in the 1920 census. In 1922, Stout was a contributor to the New York Tribune.

American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Stout drew Dulcy the Beautiful Dumb-Bell, which was “written” by Constance Talmadge and ran in 1923. Time, July 30, 1923, quoted Constance Talmadge’s press agent who said “She is ‘collaborating’ with Lauren Stout, cartoonist. ‘That is,’ continued her press agent, ‘Constance develops the ideas and lines, then gives them to Mr. Stout, who in turn, transfers them to paper.’”

Dulcy the Beautiful Dumb-Bell appeared in the Eaton Rapids Journal (Michigan) which said in its August 3, 1923 edition:

An added feature which we feel certain will win the favor of our readers has been contracted for by this newspaper. The feature is a comic cartoon strip, by a screen star. Yes, you would guess it, anyway by Constance Talmage [sic], for what screen star indeed is more ebullient?

The scintillant comedienne of the screen has been known to possess a highly developed funny-bone for these many years, else how would she have arrived at her eminence as leading comedienne of the of the silversheet?

And those who know her best know that her sense of humor persists when she is totally outside the atmosphere of the studio. In other words, it is genuine, a part of her and her life, and it is superabundant, her wit and repartee have made her “the life of the party” oh those occasions when Hollywood seeks social relation. And it is not ususual [sic] for the other guests on these occasions to lend a keen ear to Miss Talmadge’s witticisms so as to have something to “spring” on their friends and acquaintances the next day.

Because we know so many of our readers are numbered among the admirers of this whimsical young lady, it gives as pleasure to announce that she has decided to try to bring a smile or two to her hosts of friends a bit more often than she can possibly do it on the screen, by giving expression to her ebulliency in a series of comic cartoons. Each week we will publish one of these. The caption of the series is “Dulcy, the Beautiful Dumb-bell.” The series will treat of the experiences of a hair-brained damsel named Dulcy.

Miss Talmadge is supplying the ideas for the cartoons and the speech for their characters, though the drawings wi;l be by Lauren Stout, a well-known metropolitan artist and contributor to Life, Judge and New York Tribune.

Stout also spelled his first name Loren. The New York Evening Post, November 10, 1928, published a Sunday New York Herald Tribune advertisement that mentioned “Aren’t We All” by Edward Hope and illustrated by Loren Stout. A 1929 issue of New Outlook Magazine reviewed the book, Travel Trails, and said “We like the illustrations by Loren Stout.” Aren’t Men Rascals, by T. Swann Harding, was published in 1930 by the Dial Press. It was illustrated by Loren Stout. The 1933 New York City directory listed a Loren Stout at 123 East 10th Street. Dining, Wining, and Dancing in New York (1938) had decorations by Loren Stout. 


Stout was a member of the Dutch Treat Club.

According to the 1940 census, Stout resided at “240-2 34th Street” in Manhattan. He was an artist working with the Federal Art Project. Stout completed four years of high school and had been unemployed for 80 weeks.

Stout signed his World War II draft card on April 27, 1942. His address was 21 East 87th Street in Manhattan. Stout, who was unemployed, named Dr. Walter Dunckel as the person who would always know his address. Dunckel also had the same address. Stout and were Dunckel were friends for many years. The Fort Plain Standard (New York), November 17, 1932, reported this incident.

Dr. W. A. Dunckel writes from West Kingston, R. I., that he and his family were recently in an automobile accident. The party consisted of Dr. and Mrs. Dunckel and son. Jack, and Loren [sic] Stout, well known artist of New York city. All were injured except Mrs. Dunckel. Jack Dunckel suffered a broken leg. Dr. Dunckel and Mr. Stout are improving. Dr. Dunckel is a native of Fort Plain and his family lived here for many years in the former Bleecker house, which is now the D. A R. Chapter House. Dr. and Mrs. Dunckel were frequent visitors in Fort Plain last year during the transactions connected with the closing of the estate of Miss Lulue A. Bleecker and the sale of the Bleecker house. Fort Plain’s oldest and most historic building.

Stout passed away July 9, 1942. The following day the New York Times said Stour died at the United States Veterans Hospital in the Bronx. He was laid to rest at the Long Island National Cemetery.


—Alex Jay

Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles

Movies have advertised themselves by way of comic strips practically since the two mediums were initially popularized. In the early 1920s and before, the tendency was to advertise the characters rather than the movie plot per se, and Dulcy the Beautiful Dumb-Bell follows in that direction.

The 1923 silent film Dulcy starred Constance Talmadge as a scatterbrained young beauty who tries to help her husband get ahead in business through a wacky scheme. This scenario is about as tired a plot device as you can imagine, but in the hands of George S. Kaufman, who co-wrote the original play, and Anita Loos, co-screenwriter, I imagine it was a fun film. Sadly, the film is now considered lost.

The advertising comic strip, which seems to have run for 24 installments, or four weeks of dailies, advertises the character of Dulcy by trotting our some of the most basic jokebook 'dumb blonde' jokes and managing to execute them badly. The joke writer, whoever it was, plays a mean trick by assigning writing credit to movie star Talmadge, who should have sued for defamation. Luckily, the strip looks fabulous. Lauren Stout has never been on my radar before, but the lively and highly stylized art  on these strips makes certain I won't soon forget his name.

Although these ad strips were handed out to newspapers for free, I have yet to find a paper that could stomach running all 24 episodes. The earliest appearance I have found is in the Harrisburg Evening News, and based on that appearance I assign 'official' running dates of July 31 to August 27 1923, though don't hold your breath looking for such an actual appearance.

Labels: Advertising Strips, Obscurities

Russell Patterson was still in the phase where his women look like extras in a zombie film when he did The Countess and the Cowboy for King Features from August 14 to October 16 1932. Therefore, with just a little imagination, you can add a whole additional layer of very creepy subtext to this otherwise bland tale of romance.

The above sample is the final page in the series, so SPOILER WARNING -- the guys get the gals and they live happily ever after. Who woulda guessed?

July 12 1909 -- Battling Nelson is in the final day of his training for July 13's fight against Ad Wolgast. He will lose that fight by TKO in a 40-round clash, and then become inactive for six months before rejoining the pugilistic fray.

Labels: Herriman's LA Examiner Cartoons

Here's one of my very favorite postcards, and it's not even a cartoon! This card shows a statue of Andy Gump that was presented to Sidney Smith by the Chicago Tribune. He installed the statue on his estate in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and there it became a postcard subject, as seen above. Nice gardens, Sidney!

When Smith tragically died in 1935, the statue was moved to the lakefront Flatiron Park of Lake Geneva, and a plaque was added commemorating the town's famous former resident. The plaque boldly trumpets The Gumps as "the first daily comic strip" in the headline, then backs off a bit in the body text, saying it was the first daily comic strip in the Chicago Tribune. Of course neither claim is correct, but whatever. Don't believe everything ya read, kids!

Tragically, the statue was destroyed in 1967 in what is described as "a drunken riot."  Three cheers for the town fathers, who were so attached to the statue by then that they commissioned a reproduction of the original, and put it back on display. There seems to be disagreement around the interwebs regarding whether the statue was destroyed and recreated yet again in 1989, and one source claims that it is no longer on display in the park, but has been moved to the Lake Geneva Museum. Frankly that seems like a good idea, since the mean streets of Lake Geneva seem to be crawling with hoodlums and nogoodniks. Here are some good photos of the statue as of 2014.

This beautiful linen postcard was produced by the Curt Teich company. Based on the card code, 2A-H46, we know that it was issued in 1932. On the reverse it says "C.T. Art-Colortone", and credits the photographer, E.A. Bishop of Racine Wisconsin.

Labels: Wish You Were Here

1917

Donald Thompson Carlisle was born on August 20, 1894, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, according to his World War I and II draft cards.

In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Carlisle and his mother Clara, lived with her parents, Moses and Clara Thompson, in Elgin, Illinois at 416 Chicago Street. The status of Carlisle’s in not known. Carlisle’s grandfather was a civil engineer. Their address was the same in the 1910 census which also recorded a servant in the household.

The earliest signs of Carlisle’s budding artistic talent were in the children’s publication, St. Nicholas. The April 1905 issue featured his art (above) and the July 1905 issue included Carlisle for his drawing. The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 8, 1934, said Carlisle “was a cartoonist on the Chicago Tribune when but 14 years old.”

Carlisle’s college education began at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he was a cartoonist on the yearbook, The Illio 1915.

Carlisle graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1916. In the 1917 yearbook, Blue and Gold, Carlisle was on staff of the publications The Pelican and Brass Tacks, and a member of the Press Club and Alpha Delta Phi.

One of Carlisle’s classmates on The Pelican was Frederick Schiller Faust. Carlisle recalled a story in Max Brand, Western Giant: The Life and Times of Frederick Schiller Faust. 

The Pelican in our time too frequently came up to the deadline without much material for the next issue, and all hands were forced to stand by and be funny under pressure.

I remember one spring day when everyone else on the staff being A.W.O.L., Heinie and I found ourselves the only two available to put the paper to bed — and with literally nothing on hand worth publishing.

He appeared at my room about four in the afternoon with a bottle of gin and we went at it. By dinner time we had laid out the entire issue and he had written nearly all of the copy besides giving me the gags for most of the cartoons.

On June 5, 1917, Carlisle signed his World War I draft card. His address was 427 Wrightwood Avenue in Chicago. Carlisle was employed at Thielecke Advertising Company where he did agricultural advertising. He was described as tall and slender with blue eyes and light brown hair. Carlisle claimed an exemption due to an unnamed physical disability.

At some point, Carlisle moved to Brookline, Massachusetts. Boston city directories, from 1920 to 1925, listed Brookline resident Carlisle as an advertising representative at 10 State Street, room 905.

The Massachusetts Marriage Index, at Ancestry.com, said Carlisle married in 1923 in Brookline. The 1925 Brookline city directory listed Carlisle and Katherine at 56 Marshal. The 1927 Boston directory said Carlisle lived in Foxboro and had the same business address. In the 1928 Boston directory, Carlisle’s listing read, “removed to New York City”.

American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Carlisle produces Dog Days for the McClure Syndicate. Dog Days debuted January 7, 1929, was retitled Life of Riley on November 25, and ended May 23, 1931. Carlisle’s The Belvidere Hounds was published in 1935.

Carlisle and his wife traveled to Europe. On June 25, 1930, they sailed on the steamship Cleveland from Hamburg, Germany. They arrived in Boston on July 6. Their address was 10 State Street, Boston.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 8, 1934, noted Carlisle’s latest employment.

Donald T. Carlisle, well-known in the commercial advertising, has joined staff of Doremus & Co., Inc. at their New England headquarters office, 20 Kilby street, Boston. Mr. Carlisle was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He was a cartoonist on the Chicago Tribune when but 14 years old. He had his first advertising experience with the David Williams Publishing Company at New York in 191?.

At Ancestry,com, the Massachusetts, Mason Membership Card database said Carlisle was a member at the Saint Andrews lodge.

The 1940 census recorded Carlisle, his wife and mother in Foxboro at 57 Granite Street. He was an advertising executive at Alley & Richards in Boston. The same address and employer were written on Carlisle’s World War II draft card which was signed on April 26, 1942. Carlisle’s description was six feet four inches, 185 pounds with blue eyes and gray hair.

Carlisle’s drawings from his book, The Ordeal of Oliver Airedale, were featured in Life, October 6, 1941.

The Century Association Year-Book, 1957, said Carlisle “served with an Army military government unit in Europe; and after the war he translated a long-time interest in animals into a full-time occupation. He was made a vice-president of the New York Zoological Society, and he filled that position the rest of his life. He wrote books about animals, and he reviewed, for The New York Times, books that others wrote about them. To his original writings he added another dimension—illustration—that he described as inexpert; but competent critics hailed it for its whimsical and artistic qualities….”

Carlisle passed away April 6, 1956, in Poughkeepsie, New York. An obituary appeared in the Brewster Standard (New York), April 12, 1956.

Private funeral services for Donald T. Carlisle, 61, vice president of the New York Zoological society, whose death occurred in St. Francis Hospital, Poughkeepsie, on April 5, 1956 were held at Patterson on Sunday.

Mr. Carlisle was a resident of Patterson and New York City. Son of Mrs. Clara Thompson Carlisle and the late John Carlisle, he spent his early years in Elgin, Ill., and later attended the University of Illinois. He received his machelor [sic] of arts degree from the University of California in 1916.

He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi, the Lodge of St. Andrews in Boston, the Tavern club of Boston, the Coffee House and the Century association of New York city.

His wife, Mrs. Katherine Vallandingham Carlisle, is assistant to the alumnae secretary at Vassar College.

For many years Mr. Carlisle was in the advertising business with the Batten Co. in New York, later Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborne. He served as a lieutenant colonel in American military government in World War II.

In recent years he was a reviewer and illustrator of a number of books on natural history for the New York Times Sunday Book Review, but was best known as a cartoonist. His series, “The Belvedere Hounds,” ran for several years in the “Sportsman” and later was published in a book.

A 1956 issue of Animal Kingdom, by the New York Zoological Society, said 

Donald T. Carlisle, known to many of our members through his membership activities in recent years, died on April 5. The Society’s sense of loss was expressed in the following resolution passed by the Executive Committee:

Whereas, Donald Carlisle entered the service of the Society as a Vice President in 1945 and over a period of eleven years contributed his unusual talents to its purposes, and

Whereas, Donald Carlisle, with great understanding and affection for animal life, devised various means of interpreting the objectives of the Society to large numbers of people, and

Whereas, with charm, wit and artistry he was successful in building up and greatly stimulating public interest in the activities of the Society and thus substantially increasing the numbers of members and contributors to the Society, and
Whereas, his work for the success of the Society’s activities will be of permanent value to it in the future.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the death of Donald Carlisle is hereby recorded with a great sense of loss both from the point of view of his many admiring friends and associates within the organization of the Society and also because, through his passing, the Society has lost the services of a man of rare gifts and character.

—Alex Jay

Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles

Dogs are always a good bet if you want to earn yourself a spot on the newspaper comics page. Most everyone loves dogs, even newspaper features editors. That made it a smart move, seemingly, for the McClure Syndicate to accept a new panel cartoon from D.T. Carlisle, titled Dog Days. The panel featured a miscellany of dogs, but there was a definite preference for hunting hounds. Although the panel was first advertised by McClure in 1928, the start date appears to be January 7 1929.

There was little fanfare for the new panel, but it was picked up by some major papers, like the Arizona Republic and LA Times. Small wonder, because Mr. Carlisle had a real gift for drawing dogs, and his humor, while hit-and-miss, landed often enough to keep readers looking forward to the next daily dose.

You've heard me opine often enough in this space that features seldom really take hold unless they have continuing characters. Well, Carlisle seems to have been in agreement with that philosophy, because late in 1929 he phased out his cast of miscellaneous dogs, and began concentrating on an Irish terrier named Riley. On November 25 1929 the title of the panel was officially changed to Life of Riley (though many papers stuck with the original title).

While that might have been a smart move, what came next was most definitely not. After a year of gag-a-day Riley caroons, Carlisle for some reason decided to switch to a continuity format. While the continuity was initially somewhat humorous, it morphed into a half-baked adventure in which Riley and some dog pals ended up on a tropical isle looking for a treasure chest, while sparring with the island's inhabitants, which included goats, parrots and an orangutan, and avoiding some aviators who were looking for the same treasure.

Carlisle had no gift for writing continuity, and even if he did, trying to relate an adventure at the rate of a single panel per day is a dicey proposition at best. It was a complete flop, and his subscribers quickly bailed on him. By the time the panel was cancelled, apparently on October 10 1931, I'd be willing to bet he only had a few clients left. The final panel has Riley being abducted by the orangutan, and I guess living happily ever after.

I have no information on Carlisle except that he had another dog cartoon feature that ran in the magazine The Huntsman, and that one (featuring hunting dogs, of course) was a much-loved feature of that periodical. The cartoons from there were collected in at least two books, both of which are scarce and apparently much sought-after today. Carlisle also produced at least one further book of original dog cartoons, The Ordeal of Oliver Airedale.

Labels: Obscurities

Gibbs in 1939

Claude Martin Gibbs was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, on May 26, 1881, according to his World War II draft card which also had his full name. The Baltimore Sun (Maryland), May 22, 1966, said Gibbs “was brought up and educated in Cincinnati where his family moved while he was an infant.” Regarding his education, The Sun reported

“I got as far as the from door of the University of Cincinnati,” Mr. Gibbs wrote in his personal reference file, “but had to back out and go to work.”

Work included playing semi-professional baseball and basketball in the Cincinnati area for several years

In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Gibbs and his widow mother lived in Cincinnati at 32 Ninth Street. He was a printer and his mother a dressmaker. Two shoemakers boarded with them. Also in the same building were two artists, a German husband and wife, whom Gibbs nay have known.

The 1900 through 1904 Cincinnati city directories listed Gibbs as a draftsman with The U.S. Printing Company. Gibbs was an artist with the same company in 1905 but lived at a different address, 131 West 9th.

The Sun said Gibbs moved to Baltimore in 1906 and worked for a few years as a lithographer.

The 1907 Baltimore city directory said artist Gibbs resided at 1109 Gorsuch Avenue.

The District of Columbia, Compiled Marriage Index recorded Gibbs’s marriage to Alma M. Luken on February 26, 1909.

In 1910 Gibbs joined The Sun which said, “One of his first assignments was designing the masthead of The Evening Sun, which was established that year.”

Gibbs had not yet been found in the 1910 census. The 1910 Baltimore city directory listed the artist at 2504 Greenmount. A short time later, Gibbs’s address was 702 Linwood Avenue in Baltimore directories into the mid-1920s.

The Baltimore Sun cartoonist signed his World War I draft card on September 20, 1918. He was described as medium height and weight with gray eyes and black hair.

The 1920 census listed cartoonist Gibbs, his wife and three sons, Carleton, Irvin and Robert. They are Baltimore residents at 702 Linwood Avenue.

 Gibbs joined The Evening Sun staff as a political cartoonist, and produced a comic strip, Abe and the Duck*. Editor and Publisher, August 2, 1924, said Gibbs’s friends called him Abe.

They call him “Abe” after his famous grouch character, a lean old geezer with whiskers who knocks everything, and who is always accompanied by an optimistic Duck as a foil. Along with the pictorial comment in this combination, Gibbs writes a good-natured bottle of vitriolic suggestions about the bones being pulled by everybody in the sports game, and brings to his aid a keen knowledge of the game in all its departments. And he knows the game, too—knows it thoroughly and writes into his knowledge a humor that has made a big field of readers His knowledge of the game and his style are the combination that get men into the syndicate runs.

“Abe’s” recreations are as many kinds of work as there are departments of sports. Sometimes he goes home and plays with the three little boys who call him Daddy, and now and then he goes swimming or fishing with the man who writes “Songs of the Craft” for Editor & Publisher. But outside of that he gets most of his fun out of life by jack-knifing his frame over the drawing board, making pictures of Abe and the Duck, and sitting at his typewriter hammering out short, swift, but kindly stabs at everybody and everything in general.

American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Gibbs produced Go-Go from 1923 to 1924 for the International Syndicate. The series was copyrighted.

Gibbs’s home was at the same location in the 1930 census but the name of the street had changed to Deepdene Road. Gibbs’s mother-in-law was part of the household.

According to the 1940 census, Gibbs was a sportswriter. Gibbs, his wife and son Irvin were at the same address.

On April 26, 1942, Gibbs signed his World War II draft card. His employer was the A.S. Abell Company, owner of The Sun.

Gibbs passed away May 21, 1966, in Roland Park, a suburb of Baltimore. The Sun reported his death the following day. 

Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles

CHIC JACKSON DIES OF HEART ATTACK JUST AFTER QUITTING DAY'S WORK ON BEAN FAMILY 

Death Comes Suddenly as He Turns to Leave on Telling Telephone Operator: "Well, I Guess I'll Go Home" -- Created Typical Hoosiers of Comic Strip 21 Years Ago 

Chic Jackson died yesterday afternoon.

Death came suddenly and as he would have wished it -- when his day's work was done.

The creator of the Roger Bean Family, a cartoon strip that bubbled through the years with homely and piquant Hoosier philosophy, left his drawing board in The Star building shortly after 3 o'clock.
He was stricken with a heart attack as he stopped in the hall and died a few minutes later.

Effort To Revive Him Fail
Efforts of police and fire department first-aid squads and Dr. Sollis Runnells to save him were of no avail.

Funeral services will be held at 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon in the Hisey & Titus funeral home, 946 North Delaware street, and Dr. William F. Rothenburger, pastor of the Third Christian Church, will deliver the funeral sermon. The body will lie in the funeral home from 10 o'clock morning until the time for the services. Burial will be in the Beech Grove cemetery in Muncie Wednesday morning and arrangements will be made for his friends there to view the body before internment.

Chic Jackson had friends throughout the length and breadth of Indiana and those who did not know him personally knew him through his cartoon strip in which he portrayed a typical Hoosier family in its intimate and joyous life.

The strip has appeared in The Star twenty-one years and in other Indiana and Eastern newspapers many years. Readers grieved with the Beans in their moments of adversity, although Chic Jackson's nature was not such that he could let any pen-child of his stay long in despondency. In the same way, they chuckled at the barbed and boisterous homespun wisecracks of Golduh, the Bean's hired girl; Jose and all the others who brightened the pages of The Star and other newspapers through his sympathetic pen.

Attended Muncie Schools
Chic Jackson, who always preferred "Chic" to his christened name of Charles Bacon, was 57 years old and he was born just before midnight on New Year's eve, 1876, in Muncie. He attended Muncie schools and then was employed on the Muncie News and was with it when it was absorbed by the Muncie Star.

There he met Margaret Wagner of Springport, who also was employed on the newspaper, and they were married in 1902. In Muncie he was illustrator and front page cartoonist, making his drawings, as was the method then, on chalk plates.

He and his bride went to Chicago and stayed there one year, where he studied at the Chicago Art Institute. From there they came to Indianapolis in 1907 and he became the artist for The Star, at first doing Sunday feature illustrating, and later developing the Bean family into a comic strip.

Mr. Jackson's comic strip family first appeared in The Star April 22, 1913. The first drawing, appropriately enough, showed Mr. and Mrs. Roger Bean alighting at the Union Station and preparing to settle in Indianapolis.

Widow, 2 Sons Survive
Mrs. Jackson followed the career of the Bean family with just as much interest as any one of the thousands of readers of The Star and often aided in solving its problems. She survives with two sons, William Charles Jackson, who lives with his wife and son Jed at 4818 College avenue, and Richard Wagner Jackson, a reporter on the South Bend News-Times. There also are two brothers, Dr. Frank Jackson and Warren Jackson, both of Muncie.

Mrs. Jackson's brother, the Rev. C.E. Wagner of Joplin, Mo., will come here for the funeral.

People Held His Interest
Chic's chief interest, outside of his family and the Bean family that he created, was people. He liked people, he was drawn to them and they to him. He felt the heart tugs of their little setbacks and their greater sorrows and he chuckled at their idiosyncrasies. His sympathy was aroused easily and he was too tolerantly whimsical to utter an unkind word. His humor was quaint and joyous and never biting. Those who knew him in the early part of his life say that these qualities and his intense interest in the ties of family life might be attributed to the loss of his mother when he was 2 years old.

Roger Bean, Mrs. Bean, Golduh, Woody and all the other human and laughable characters that were animated with his contagious humor during the years were not merely pen and paper figures to him. To him they were real people, some of them even were his own family, and as for Roger Bean, that bluff, good-natured fellow who started it all -- Roger Bean was almost Chic Jackson himself. Those who knew Chic recognized that Roger was merely the instrument through which Chic expressed his own philosophy of the every day.

As Real to Him as Own Family
"The Bean family, to Chic, was every bit as real to him as we were," Mrs. Jackson said. It started with Roger and Mrs. Bean and then came Golduh, the vigorous and quick-spoken redhead, to work as their "hired girl." Later came "Woody" Bean, whose complete name was Woodrow Smith Bean, and one can easily see that he came during the administration of the war President. The Smith in "Woody's" name came from Mrs. Bean's family, whom Chic had decided would be of that multitudinous assemblage.

Soon came various other characters to join in the delightful procession. There was Mrs. Probe and Mr. Probe and the drawling Jose: Buck, who was Golduh's brakeman sweetheart, the ice man, the coal man, the messenger boy, and that aggravating rooster of Mrs. Probe's called Joey. There was Uncle Castor, lovable Uncle Wash, Mr. Burleson and a host of others. Then there was the case of Cynthia, who became a member of the Bean family through adoption. The care used in delineating Cynthia's background was typical of the way in which Chic sought sincerity through his work.

Originally he intended to have Cynthia come from Canada, but he took a trip to Canada and learned that an orphan of that age could never be passed over the international line and that the immigration authorities would cause untold complications for the Rat and his gang which was engaged in a nefarious plot with the appealing and innocent Cynthia as the bait. So Chic, who had his heart set on making Cynthia a Canadian, yielded to the more practical and probable and had Cynthia originate in a Northern state of the United States.

Another parallel in his history of the Bean family was the address he gave them -- 3029 Devers road. There is no Devers road in Indianapolis, but the house number, 3029, is the same as that of the Jackson home on Broadway. They had lived at that address on Broadway since 1918.

Smallest Mistake Brought Letters
Let Chic make the smallest kind of mistake and he heard about it. He precipitated a small flurry when he inadvertently left the stripes from Golduh's stockings one day. Only recently he was called to time by a woman reader who asserted that he'd had Mrs. Bean serve gingerbread too late in the season. All the criticism was in good-natured vein and Chic always answered in kind.

Thousands of letters had come to him from all over the country to point out any small discrepancy and other thousands wrote just because they wanted him to know the enjoyment they got from his strip. For a long period when Golduh was addicted to brickbat throwing on the slightest provocation he would receive in the mail now and then a brick, decorated with a fancy ribbon, or perhaps one from some historic building being wrecked. "Let Golduh throw this one," the sender usually suggested. There is still a pile of these bricks in Chic's room in The Star.

Chic's gentle humor touched many a responsive chord. Among his cherished recollections was one of a call that James Whitcomb Riley made in 1915. The poet was infirm and unable to leave his car, but he sent his chauffeur to the second floor of The Star building with a request that Chic come down to the parked automobile. There Riley told him of his enjoyment of the characters portrayed in the strip and his pleasure over their "good wholesome humor." Chic had a keen admiration of the poet and he was deeply grieved when Riley died July 22 of the following year.

A few days later Chic expressed his feeling of the loss in his cartoon., which showed only a single picture and that was of Roger Bean, serious and contemplative, sitting under a tree with Woody, then only 2 years old, beside him. Roger was reading from a book Riley's poem, "The Raggedy Man." The caption of the cartoon was "But His Songs Go On Forever."

Last October William R.L. Dwyer, who draws the syndicated "Dumb Dora" strip, called on Chic and they spent an entire afternoon discussing the whimseys of their own comic characters. Others with whom he liked to talk over the joys and tribulations of being humorous were Strickland Gillilan, Don Herold and Ad Carter, who draws "Just Kids."

Another whose friendship he enjoyed was Jap Miller of Brooklyn, who was a Hoosier philosopher in his own right. When Miller died recently Chic wrote a sympathetic tribute and illustrated it with a pencil sketch.

One of Chic's hobbies was making chalk talks and he appeared before organizations throughout the state, drawing his characters in crayons and giving a humorous introduction and explanation of each as he drew them. At one time he and Hugh Cash, now art director of the Chicago Tribune, made tours through Indiana, Chic giving his chalk talks and Cash giving an exhibition of paper cutting with scissors.

Eastern Papers Used Beans
When Chic left his office on the second floor yesterday, he intended to send a series of his cartoons by mail to the George Matthew Adams Syndicate in New York, which had charge of distribution of his work among a group of newspapers. These included papers in Schenectady, N.Y.; Camden, N.J.; Dorrance, Mass., and others. The strip had been run in the Schenectady and Dorrance papers almost as many years as it had appeared in The Star. Indiana papers in which the strip has appeared are in Gary, Fort Wayne, Muncie and Terre Haute.

He had begun work in his office at 10 o'clock yesterday morning and had been steadily at work until about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. He had walked through the city room, picked up some wrapping paper and hailed members of the staff with his usual cheery greeting.

He re-entered his office, talked over the telephone with Mrs. Jackson and gathered together his drawings to be put in the mails. After he left his room he stopped at the telephone switchboard near the top of the stairway and told Mrs. Kathryn Fender, operator on duty, "Well, I guess I'll go home." As he turned to go he was stricken and collapsed. Mrs. Fender called others in the building.

J.P. Edmison, chief editorial writer for The Star, was one of the first to reach his side and held Chic as he died.

Last Ambition Left Unfulfilled

Chic Wanted to See Woody Bean Through College

Chic Jackson died with his last ambition unfulfilled.

He wanted to see Woody Bean through college and started on adult life before laying aside his drawing board and wiping the India ink from his pen for the last time.

Woody, the 20-year-old adopted son of Roger and Sylvia Bean, like every other character that played a part in the Bean family comic strip, was as real to Chic as though he were flesh and blood. The galaxy of men, women and children that Chic had created in the more than twenty-one years he had been at work in The Star building were as alive to the cartoonist as any novelist's creations ever could be to an author. Chic could tell you what they did and what they thought about when they were not "working" for their public within the confines of the strip.

"I've got one ambition in life," Chic said. "That's to get Woody through college and see him settled in life. I want to see him well started on his own career. If I didn't do that I'd feel that I hadn't done right by him."

Brought Up From Babyhood
Woody is a freshman in college now, in his first separation from the life of the family circle. Chic brought him up from babyhood through the experience of infancy, first school days and the pains and pleasures of boyhood. Certainly Roger Bean himself couldn't have been happier to see the boy on the threshold of manhood.

It seems pretty well established that Woody is the first comic strip child that grows. On Christmas day, 1914, he was found in a market basket on the Bean doorstep. He was six weeks old then, as near as anyone could determine.

After due consultation with Mrs. Probe and other neighbors, he was adopted. He was named Woodrow Smith Bean. Chic had some hesitation about introducing the child into the family, for in 1914 the facts of life were mentioned in whispers, and Freud, Jung and Adler had yet to hear their names become household words.

Nevertheless, The Star's readers welcomed the baby. Only one person came forward with a protest. An old-line Democrat, incensed because a mere comic strip character had been named after the President of the United States, canceled his subscription.

First Appearance in 1913
Chic didn't realize that the natural growth of Woody was an innovation. From the time of the first appearance of the Bean family on April 22, 1913, he had lived up to the ideal of presenting only the quiet humor of everyday life. He thought there was a field for such humor among the slapstick comics of the newspapers of the time, so he eschewed gaudy effects and adhered to the actual and natural aspects of family life.

Thus Chic was surprised when readers and friends called his attention to the growth of Woody when the boy was about two years old and was beginning to say a few words. Woody was contrasted with other juveniles of the comic sections, the Katzenjammer Kids, Buster Brown, Cicero Mutt and Chester Gump, who remained unchanged for decades.

They say around The Star office that Chic felt that his time to die was not far off, and that the feeling had been intensified since he suffered a severe attack of heart disease about a year ago. However, Chic wasn't plaintive about it, nor did he express the feeling in bald words.

Did Drawing in Color
A few weeks ago he finished some drawings in color of five of his characters, and had them framed and hung in his office. To an onlooker who commented on them he said:

"Yes, I thought I'd have them framed and put there because they are probably the last things of that sort I'm going to do."

On the other wall of his office he had a large painting of the entire Bean family and other characters, drawn almost life size.

"That's how they look when they're off-duty," he would say of the painting.

Other paintings by Chic, on subjects not connected with the Bean family, also were part of his permanent office fixtures. One cabinet is filled with gifts that followers of the Bean family have sent to its various members. Golduh is especially favored here. Innumerable persons have sent her bricks to replenish her constantly-depleted stack. Among these are two bricks from the original Governor's mansion which stood on the Circle many years ago. Two are from the Indiana University fieldhouse, sent to the obstreperous redhead by President William Lowe Bryan. Other admirers have sent her striped stockings.

Had Statuettes of Golduh
Statuettes of Golduh and of other characters are among the collection. One of the oldest gifts is the "original package" of My Lady's Slipper, the rough-cut eating tobacco to which Uncle Wash is addicted.

Although Chic's days were devoted to the production of the Roger Bean family's appearances, he found time to make sketches and drawings for many individuals and organizations in the city. On special occasions he drew special cartoons for The Star.

One of the drawings he made for his own amusement eight years ago developed into an institution. This is a mock diploma for the "bachelor of health" degree which he presented to the Marion County Tuberculosis Sanitarium.

The diploma reads:

"Be it known that this day marks the beginning of a new era of good cheer and health for Student John Doe. This degree is based on the theory that a smile is a tonic whether you are on the receiving or sending end and proves the isolation of the germ of good humor."

A class motto inscribed on the lower left hand corner reads, "Love your nurse and doctors -- the more the merrier."

Honored by Club Last Week
Sanitarium officials decided the diploma had more than transient value. They printed copies of it and presented them to patients who had "graduated" from the hospital by conquering the ravages of tuberculosis. About six hundred diplomas already have been given.

Dr. William McQueen, superintendent of the sanitarium, presented a copy, inscribed with Mr. Jackson's name, the date of presentation and signatures of Dr. McQueen and Dr. R.S. Henry, to the cartoonist at the weekly luncheon of the Rotary Club last Tuesday.

"Some of our former patients have told us that they value their health diplomas more than they would a college diploma," Dr. McQueen said at that time. A new supply of the diplomas was printed recently.

On three occasions in recent years the Bean family has appeared outside the newspapers. One of these was at the 1929 state fair, when the Indiana University show included a skit, "The Return of Woody Bean." Chic made a personal appearance with this show.

In the spring of 1931 a series of sketches of Bean family life appeared on the radio via WFBM, Indianapolis Power and Light Company radio station. The broadcast also was part of the state fair that fall. In February, 1933, when the jigsaw puzzle craze was at its zenith, Chic prepared a series of drawings in color which were made into puzzles.

Song Called "Golduh"
Back in 1929 when Charlie Davis was master of ceremonies at the Indiana theater, the versatile band leader composed a song, "Golduh." The song was presented as part of the Indiana stage show in April.

The conditions of life in Indianapolis have been reflected in the doings of the Bean family. When they first came to the city in 1913, houses were hard to find and several days were devoted to the tribulations of house hunting and getting settled. In similar fashion, the trends and tides of municipal life have rippled the surface of the life of the family down the years.

In the fall of 1913 the need for domestic help around the Bean home became apparent. Roger hired a girl who might have come straight from the chorus of a musical comedy, but Sylvia flagged him down before the girl even set foot in the house. Mrs. Bean thereupon engaged the services of one Golduh Stubbins of Bucyrus, O.

New Characters Added
As the months went on other new characters came in. The inquisitive and bellicose Mrs. Alvina Probe, wife of Henry, was the next one after Golduh.The initial visit of Uncle Castor Bean from Boston came in 1914. Cynthia Bean, now in her fifth year, is one of the later acquisitions. Like Woody, she was adopted by the Beans when she was a baby and has been growing up like any living little girl. "Buck," the dynamic railroader who woos Golduh, also is a younger member of the strip's cast of characters.

When Golduh was created, Chic picked the home town of the Stubbins family off a map of Ohio, quite at random. He did not visit Bucyrus until the summer of 1931, but plenty of people from Bucyrus have visited him, most of them with fire in their eyes.

"When I chose Bucyrus," Chic used to say, "I never imagined I'd ever see the town or meet anyone from there. But it seems that I've met the entire population."

Since Golduh in her younger days was hoydenish, boisterous and belligerent, citizens of Bucyrus took their relation with the Bean family comic strip as a direct affront. It was several years before the anti-Chic Jackson feeling died down.

Hoosier Come to Aid
At the height of public unrest in Bucyrus, when comments in letters to the editor of The Star from that town were exceedingly acrimonious, twenty residents of Boswell, Ind., came to the aid of the harassed cartoonist. They offered Lem Stubbins (who at the time drove a one-horse team) the use of a two-ton truck if he would move to Bucyrus.

Fortunately, however, Bucyrus finally came to regard the matter less seriously and Chic was saved from possible mob violence. When Chic was there for a few hours in 1931, he found the old grievance had been buried under the accumulations of time. He sent a telegram from Bucyrus to friends in Indianapolis saying:

"Was just over to see Lem Stubbins, but he has closed his barber shop for the afternoon and gone to Mansfield for band practice.

"CHIC JACKSON"

Chic watched the young man in the Bucyrus telegraph office closely, but not a flicker of rage or any other emotion crossed his features. So Chic figured that the old enmity around Bucyrus had faded away.

CHIC'S EASY WIT FOR HIMSELF, TOO

Autobiography Reveals Buckwheat as His Favorite Flower

Chic Jackson's easy wit went for himself as well as for others, as shown in the following bit of autobiography written in answer to a request from one of the readers of his strip:

"Historically, I was born in Muncie so long ago, and left there so long ago that the old town has recovered from my early citizenship; and now when I run back for a brief visit I find no ill effects, but there are still some who talk about it like they speak of an appendicitis operation and insist on showing the scar!

"I arrived just before midnight on New Year's eve; everybody was attending a watch party except my mother, who dutifully enough never left me for a minute.

Couldn't Stick to "Real" Work
"Of course you are curious to know of any early manifestations of this queer characteristic which is proving to be my life's work, which reminds me that only recently an old-timer asked me if ever I expected to settle down and do something useful! I draw (I have always drawn) attention to my general inability to stick to "real" work -- according to my friends -- and when I think of the many jobs I have tried to learn to love and failed, they are doubtless right. Imagine me, if you please, at work in a shoe factory, a glass factory, rolling mill, steel mill, nut and bolt works, grocery store and brickyards! Note that these are the callings of hard-handed, red-blooded sons of industry; I sought nothing soft, but be it said to the credit of the several bosses whom I served, they did nothing to encourage me in embracing any one of these occupations. In some cases they insisted that I tarry not -- thus preserving me for this pleasant task of writing my life.

Life an Open Book
"Facts: I connected with my home town paper as illustrator and front page cartoonist; then twenty-five years ago I attended Chicago Art School one year; then to the Indianapolis Star. Nineteen years ago the Bean family had its premiere, and since then my life and family connections are as an open book.

"I was married to Margaret Wagner of Springport, Ind., and we have two boys, who frequently laugh at my stuff.

My favorite quotation is 'Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.'

"I like movies, doughnuts and coffee. (It does not keep me awake.)

"My favorite flower is old-fashioned buckwheat with sausage."

HAIL AND FAREWELL TO THE BEAN FAMILY

Labels: News of Yore

July 12 1909 -- The Elks are in town for a convention, and the LA newspapers always blow out all the stops in welcome. Herriman contributes a page-long cartoon to commemorate their shenanigans.

Herriman has several times now used the term "appajava", this time in relation to fiery Mexican food. I assume this is a corruption of a Spanish term, but can't think of what it would be. Ideas?

Labels: Herriman's LA Examiner Cartoons

Here's the last of the Abe Martin cards I have. Although I'm not particularly a fan of Hubbard's folksy humor, I must admit I got a smile out of this one, especially the mangled (I hope)  name of the young miss.

Labels: Wish You Were Here

First Roger Bean comic strip, April 22 1913

Many years ago, I posted an Obscurity of the Day about Chic Jackson's comic strip Roger Bean. The strip was created for the Indianapolis Star in 1913, and received a very light distribution to other newspapers during its 21-year life. In my admittedly spotty reading of the strip I came away with the conclusion that those Hoosiers are willing to put up with some powerfully bad art in trade for some locally produced humor. I also called into question a number of points made in the comic strip reference books.

It's a decade later, and that post has accrued a number of pretty interesting comments, some of which rightly take me to task for errors and omissions. Now that the Indianapolis Star is available through newspapers.com, its about time for me to make some corrections, and while I'm at it, pass along some of the heartfelt eulogies that ran in the Star when Jackson suddenly died in 1934 (come back on Monday for that post).

Some new and corrected info. Warning, number three is a doozy if you are a Gasoline Alley fan:


1) I then said that I could find no trace of there ever being a Roger Bean Coffee. Since then I have indeed found that the coffee brand did exist, and seems to have debuted on store shelves in late 1915. The coffee brand, which was local to Indiana, ceases to be advertised in early 1923.



2) I said that the strip ended on September 23 1933, based on the run in the Chicago Daily News. Turns out that the strip ran in its home paper and a few syndicated outlets right through Jackson's death, and ended with the last strips he'd completed on the day of his death. The final strip actually ran on June 23 1934.

The final Roger Bean strip, June 23 1934

3) I said a decade ago that I saw no evidence that characters aged in Roger Bean, though legend had it that they did. Since then several correspondents have told me that it is indeed true that characters aged in the strip. Now here I go again possibly putting my foot in my mouth, but my impression is that Jackson aged the children in the strip, but the adults pretty much stayed the same age. Nevertheless, I stand corrected that characters did indeed age in Roger Bean.

Aging characters was thought to be an innovation created in Gasoline Alley, but evidently Frank King was not the first to come up with that idea. That, however, is not the only parallel between Gasoline Alley and Roger Bean. And here it gets a bit uncomfortable. The Bean's first child, Woody, was an orphan that they found in a basket on their doorstep in the middle of the night. In 1914.

Yeah.

I'm not going to say it, but now we're all thinking it. My admiration for Frank King knows no bounds, but this is very unsettling. Evidently Jackson was too nice a guy to make a public issue of it, but ...

Woody arrives on the doorstep, December 25 1914

Gasoline Alley, February 14 1921

Labels: Obscurities

Thomas Henry Foley was born on February 3, 1887, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to his World War I draft card which also had his full name. The !900 U.S. Federal Census recorded his birth month and year as February 1887. However, a transcription at the Minnesota, Births and Christenings Index (at Ancestry.com) has the same birthplace but the birth year was 1888.

In the 1900 census, Foley was the fourth of five children born to John, an Irishman and stone mason, and Ellen, an Englishwoman. The family resided in Minneapolis at 1534 East 22nd Street.

Inklings of Foley’s talent appeared frequently in the Minneapolis Journal from 1902 to 1904 in its section, The Journal Junior.

The Minneapolis Journal, January 10, 1903, announced the winner of an art scholarship and said 

Zula J. Bottenfield, Seventh Grade, Madison School, has won the scholarship offered in connection with the work in the Junior advertising department, and is entitled to four months instruction at the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts. As was announced at the beginning, these scholarships are awarded wholly upon the artistic merit of the designs, irrespective as to what makes the best advertisement: All things considered Miss Bottenfield’s work best filled the requirements, although the work of Esther Chapman and Thomas H. Foley is deserving of special mention.

Foley was mentioned in St. Nicholas, March 1904.

Information about Foley’s training has not been found. American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Foley produced over a dozen comics for the Minneapolis Journal, from 1909 to 1913, including Buddy and His Wonderful Lamp, The City Fairies, and Here’s to Your Health, which debuted late in 1926.

In the 1910 census, newspaper artist Foley continued to live with his parents and remaining siblings. They lived in Minneapolis at 2213 Chicago Avenue.

On June 5, 1917, Foley signed his World War I draft card. He was married and lived in Excelsior, Minnesota. His description was tall and slender with brown eyes and black hair.

Cartoons Magazine, September 1917, published this item about Foley. 

Thomas Foley, cartoonist of the Minneapolis Daily News, won the prize offered for the best recruiting poster design for the First Minnesota artillery. It shows a 14 inch gun in action. The caption reads: “Do you dare to join the First Minnesota artillery?”

According to the 1920 census, Foley and Mildred made their home in Minneapolis at 2701 Clinton Avenue.
Foley was employed at the Minneapolis Daily Star which featured him in its April 25, 1924 edition.

In the 1930 census, the couple were residents of Minnetonka, Minnesota. The census said newspaper artist Foley was 29 when he married Mildred.

Foley passed away sometime before the 1940 census which recorded his wife as a widow in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles