Gary Arlington 1938-2014

Larry's Cartoon Vault: Comic Postcards

When was the last time you mailed a postcard?
In our continuing documentation of the demise of print media, the postcard may be another form of cultural ephemera you can kiss good-bye.

Aside from the ‘Wish-you-were -here” school of photo landscapes and sites there’s been a long tradition of comic and novelty postcards – often topically funny, lurid, risqué and sometimes just plain strange.

Here from the Vault are some true oldies by three of the most renowned cartoonists of the late 19^th and early 20^th century.

R.F. Outcault- creator of what is commonly held to be the first comic strip The Yellow Kid and creator of the once enormously popular Buster Brown drew these in 1905.

Frederick Burr Opper

Opper by Opper

He drew for the humor weekly Puck through the 1880's and ‘90’s  until lured away by William Randolph Hearst to create comic strips for the New York Journal such as And Her Name was Maud and Happy Hooligan.

Opper's most famous creation, Happy Hooligan, 1906

F.M. Howarth- a mainstay of humor rags such as Puck and Life created the strip Lulu and Leander in 1903.

Some of the above cards (the ones with sepia hued phantom images) by both Opper and Howarth are “Magic Cards” produced by Hearst papers as a promotion circa 1906.

The “punchline” was invisible and required the viewer to “run a hot flat iron over the back of these postcards or hold them over a gas jet, or a lamp, or a burning match (but be careful not to set them on fire)---and see what happens”.

By doing so the punchline image would be obtained (along with a few burnt fingers perhaps).

Numerous other cartoonists drew cartoon postcards including the renowned Clare Victor Dwiggins aka Dwig.

And the unknown (to me anyway) Myer.

On the other hand some cartoonists specialized in comic postcards.  Three figures who dedicated a great deal of the creative career to cartoon postcards are below: Walter Wellman, Donald McGill and the nearly feral Hillbilly Larry Smith.

Walter Wellman drew cartoon postcards, comic valentines and novelty cards of all sorts for decades.

1908

Reverse

Here’s an original drawing from my collection by Wellman. It appears to be an incomplete drawing for a postcard drawn probably sometime before WWI.

British artist, Donald McGill usually specialized in vulgar and racy (by British standards of the day) cards that were hugely popular in England.  Apparently there’s a Donald McGill Postcard Museum in England.

A tame McGill card circa 1924

Hillbilly Larry Smith often bartered cartoon drawings for hamburgers and beer.

He also drew a lot of postcards like these:

This black and white one was used by Smith himself back in 1944 just as he was being discharged from the military.

And another one

Somebody probably has written a history of the comic postcard but I’ve never seen it.    Here’s a sort of bibliography for the three cartoonists I’ve just featured.

The Postcard Collector magazine  v8 #11 Nov. 1990    Features a brief account on Walter Wellman. 

The World of Donald McGill  by Elfreda Buckland,  Blanford Press 1984

The Brass Ring by Bill Mauldin  (Mauldin describes the colorful Hillybilly Larry in this memoir—the first cartoonist Mauldin ever met).

Senior Lunch Group Art Show

The show for January at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center is an exhibit of artists that attend the weekly senior lunch.

Fortunately the San Geronimo Valley has an inordinate number of talented artists which makes this show a lot of fun to put on.

Here's a very small sampling of work from the exhibit.

"Anonymous" mixed media by Al Ardelle

                                    ( image copyright 2014 Al Ardelle) 

                                       

"Fair Enough" by Laura Kradjan-Cronin

"Stairway to Heaven" ceramic by Christina Jaqua

"A Match Made in Heaven" ceramic by Christina Jaqua

This is the 4th Annual Senior Lunch  Group Art Show.

The art reception is tomorrow, Sunday, January 12th, 4-7-m
at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center.

Happy New Year !

Art from the 1921 end of the year edition of Life drawn by Molly's grandpappy, Rea Irvin.

Larry and Molly's Annual Post-Christmas/ New Year's Card

Merry post-Christmas and a Happy New Solar Cycle !

Larry's Cartoon Vault: The Cartoon Ghosts of Christmas Past

A little holiday cheer from three classic humor weeklies of days gone by.

Cover from Ballyhoo 1934. Artwork by Russell Patterson.

Two cartoons by the ever zany Bill Holman from Judge 1931.

And J.R. Shaver from Life 1921.

Merry Christmas from Larry and Molly!

Larry's Cartoon Vault: Art Young and the Espionage Act

Reading a news item recently regarding national security issues, I was surprised to learn that the Espionage Act was currently being used to prosecute government employees for leaking classified information to journalists.

In my innocence, I was somewhat surprised to learn that the Espionage Act --enacted in 1917-- was still in existence at all.   I only knew of the law in association with a series of infamous trials during World War I.

For me, the term “espionage” conjures up images of invisible ink, secret passwords, spies thwarted from blowing up the Brooklyn Bridge or some such.

However, the case I’m most familiar with from the WWI era had to do with the activities of a “dangerous” cartoonist who used very visible India ink.  

Art Young.

Self portrait from Art Young's Inferno (1934)

 Young was one of a number of artists and writers who were placed on trial for conspiring to obstruct military enlistment under the Espionage Act.

Young, a well-known and successful cartoonist, had a career that began around 1889.  He worked for a variety of newspapers and freelanced to major humor magazines such as Puck, Life and Judge. He drew straight gags, social satire and progressive political cartoons. He also was a frequent contributor the Socialist magazine, The Masses (many of the finest cartoonists, illustrators and artists of the day contributed to The Masses including John Sloan, George Bellows, Robert Minor, Broadman Robinson and Robert Henri).

The Espionage Act was originally enacted on June 15, 1917 to prevent the support US enemies during times of war.   During WWI, the Espionage Act was broadly interpreted to include pretty much any criticism of Woodrow Wilson administration’s war efforts.

Below is "Exhibit F" in Art Young’s trial for sedition:

"Having Their Fling"

It’s hard today to imagine that an editorial cartoon that disapproves of war so generically could be viewed as a kin to an act of violence or sedition.

Somewhere along the line a law intended to thwart foreign subversion –like blowing up the Brooklyn Bridge—was instead being employed to censor the press.

 Young’s take on the proceedings was remarkable:

“… I did not expect to be hung if found guilty, or shot at sunrise. At the worst I was sure it would be but a few years in prison.” (Italics my emphasis).

He may be best remembered for falling asleep during the “trial for his life”.

Young later did this sketch of his famous nap.

Among other writers and artists tried at the time included editor Max Eastman, H.J. Glintenkamp, John Reed and even poet Josephine Bell (she wrote a poem about Emma Goldman).

Ultimately, the jury split and the judge called a mistrial.  On Oct 1918, a second trial for conspiracy was held. Again resulting with a split jury.

Art Young, a great cartoonist, is unjustly forgotten today. 

Here’s one of my favorite Young cartoons (actually one of my favorite cartoons, period)

Here's a couple more:

This was one of Young's most reprinted cartoons

For more on the subject check out these books by Art Young:

On My Way 

Art Young: His Life and Times

Art Young’s Inferno

The Best of Art Young

and:

Art for the Masses by Rebecca Zurier

Nelson Mandela 1918-2013

Thinking of the remarkable Nelson Mandela. Here is a cartoon by South African cartoonist, Zapiro, done some years ago (2003) but still rings true. A great moral leader.

From Zapiro's book Dr.-Dolittle and the African Potato

Hand Carved Bobbleheads by Mot

Marin artist, Mot, recently made these bobble heads of the Fab Four, Bill Shakespeare and some Dead guys. They are hand carved from wood and hand painted. Mot will be selling wooden toys and other such items at the Holiday Crafts Fair at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center on December 7th.

Thanks to Mot for the snaps. You can find more on Mot on previous posts on this blog (check the Search) or take a gander at his website www.motartstudios.com

Last Show of the Year at SGVCC

We just concluded the last exhibit for the year 2013 in the Maurice Del Mue Galleries at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center.

The November show was a retrospective of the work of the late dancer, calligrapher and painter, Jenny Hunter Groat  (1929-2013).

Jenny circa 1960's

Jenny's calligraphy

Lacuna

Peter Groat, Jenny's husband, conducted a talk on Jenny's work at the reception.

The reception was held on November 10th.