John M. Baer, revisited

 11 1/2 years ago, I ran across the name of a local political cartoonist, and tracked down some info about him:

Henry Elderman? John M. Baer? UPDATED. (February 1 2010): https://comicsdc.blogspot.com/2010/02/henry-elderman-john-m-baer.html

John M. Baer. (February 2 2010): https://comicsdc.blogspot.com/2010/02/john- 

So who was editorial cartoonist John M Baer anyway? (February 9 2010): https://comicsdc.blogspot.com/2010/02/so-who-was-editorial-cartoonist-john-m.html

and then completely forgot about him until Stuart McIntire found an obituary for him and put it on Facebook with a link to my previous posts. 

Vienna, David. 1970. Cartoonist John Baer, 83, Dies, Coined FDR's 'New Deal' Slogan. Washington Post (February 23)

With his permission, here's Stu's scan of the obituary:

 

 

The Persinger Scrapbook: An Esoteric and Ephemeral Cultural Artifact

 by Stu McIntire

ser·en·dip·i·ty
/ˌserənˈdipədē/
noun
the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
"a fortunate stroke of serendipity"

Fredonia, Kansas is a small town (population <2,500) in the southeastern region of the State. It is surrounded by farmland and is an atypical representation of mid-American life... a living celebration of faith, family and community. It's the type of place where high school sports and the annual Homecoming event are a Big Deal.

A barber shop once existed on N. 6th Street, run by a gentleman named I.A. Persinger. Persinger's establishment, called The Bungalow, was approximately a block over and a block up from my grandparent's house on N. 7th Street, which was on a corner across the street from the high school.

The Bungalow was known to draw customers from at least as far away as Moline, in Elk County, some 40 miles away. That was no small thing during the Depression when resources were scarce. It was almost certainly a communal spot. While customers waited, they could peruse and write in, or sign, a delightfully unique item that Persinger created. It began as a scrapbook in which the barber collected his favorite newspaper comic strip, Wash Tubbs (Roy Crane was the creator of the strip from April 14, 1924 - May 29, 1943).

What set Persinger's Scrapbook apart from "any other" scrapbook were the notations and commentary Persinger added, along with scribblings penned by delighted customers. Persinger's Scrapbook is notable, as has been described by researchers and scholars, as a diary, almanac, and news source. Some of the comments Persinger penned read almost as quaint, humorous and poetic high school yearbook inscriptions.

This is no typical scrapbook. It tips the scales at some 35 pounds and is at least a foot thick, if not more so. It was lovingly collected, collated and bound over a number of years by its owner and willingly shared with the public. It survived (surprisingly intact, considering its handling) decades of constant page-turning and reading not to mention the ravages of decay common to pulp materials.

To our good fortune, the Columbia University Libraries are now the custodians of the Persinger Scrapbook. The link here is to a video presented by Library staff that describes the challenges faced when deciding how best to restore this treasure for future generations. The goal, if it can be achieved, is to digitize as much of the content as possible and to make it available as an eBook. Watch the video through and share in the glee expressed by the presenters. While doing so, give a thanks to Maggie Thompson for her considerable efforts to this happen.

On a personal note, though Persinger predated me and the rest of my family, he was active in Fredonia for the decades of my grandfather's young adulthood and middle age. They were neighbors and possibly friends. It is entirely possible that Persinger was my grandfather's barber. It is possible my grandfather held the Persinger Scrapbook and read through it. (My grandfather was a comic strip fan from his childhood days of Alphonse & Gaston, Bringing Up Father, Foxy Grandpa, and the Yellow Kid). If I may dream... it's entirely possible the Persinger Scrapbook includes one or more of my grandfather's handwritten messages. Time - and careful conservation - will tell. I, for one, eagerly anticipate seeing the page-by-page high-res scans once Columbia University is able to release a digitized version. That is true even if no sign of my grandfather's hand is detected.

My mother lived out her final years in Fredonia, where she grew up and graduated high school. She and my dad relocated there after my dad's retirement. My mom owned and operated an antique shop for a time. She was a local history buff and would have been ecstatic with this discovery. Even if my mother never knew I.A. Persinger on a personal level, there is no doubt she knew who he was, as well as his wife and daughter. I was made aware of this too late to share with my mom and well beyond the time I could query my grandfather. I've been to Fredonia countless times but do not have a personal history there. I see this as one more connection which though tenuous, is no less treasured.

video:
https://youtu.be/bQoIvoh8iEc

 

 

Longtime local fan, collector, teacher Ellen Vartanoff has passed away

Irene Vartanoff is noting on Facebook that her sister Ellen has passed away in hospice on March 17th. Ellen was a fixture in local fandom, and taught comics classes too. In the 1990s she had an exhibit of original comic art collected by herself and her sister which was lovely to see. She worked on three comic books for Marvel. Later today, we'll have Stu McIntire's remembrance of Ellen.

The Washington Post reviewed one of Ellen's exhibits in 1997.

These Are Your Grandfather’s Comics: My Link to the Platinum Age

These Are Your Grandfather’s Comics

My Link to the Platinum Age

by

Stu McIntire

In the summer of 1981 I was visiting my grandparents. My grandfather was an antique collector at heart. I shared with him how I’d recently purchased The Latest Adventures of Foxy Grandpa (1905) at an antique store in New Market, Maryland.

I was more than a little surprised at his excited reaction. It turns out that as a young boy growing up in the in the Midwest, he was an enormous fan of Foxy Grandpa as well as other early U.S. newspaper comic strips, including The Yellow Kid and Happy Hooligan. In fact, he meticulously maintained a scrapbook of The Yellow Kid.

The Yellow Kid full newspaper page

Now it was my turn to get excited. “Do you still have it?” I asked. Sadly, the answer was no. His mother had burned it. She had no way to foresee a future interest much less the collectability of these newspaper “funnies” or their progeny. It wasn’t an act of malicious intent. It was just…inevitable. It’s what was done with such relics. Alas. But my grandfather would soon gift me with a (non-Yellow Kid) goodie from his youth. More on this later.

Over the years I’ve purchased or have been gifted other Foxy Grandpa collectibles. You see, it turns out Foxy was quite popular “back in the day”. A handful of (very) short Foxy Grandpa films were produced…more books…toys…sheet music…you name it. These are the Foxy Grandpa items I own:

post card (1906) 

post card (1906) 

 Up to Date card game (Selchow & Righter) (1903)

Hubley (repro) cast iron bank 

comic book (1905)

The Adventures of Lovely Lilly

The happy result of this bonding moment with my grandfather was that he gifted me a…handkerchief. Yes, a handkerchief. Not just any old scrap of fabric, this one has a backstory. You see, this handkerchief has faint pictures imprinted on it. My grandfather apologized that the pictures were not clearer. He explained that they are meant to be well-defined. When it was brand new the material showed no pictures. One was meant to take a hot iron and press the fabric until the images “magically” appeared. The pictures on this were not faded. They were just never fully exposed because the iron my grandfather used was not yet sufficiently hot to do the job it was meant to do.

It would be some time before I identified the artwork and writing on my handkerchief. I even tried enlisting the aid of Maggie Thompson (Comics Buyers Guide) at a comic convention in Philadelphia in the early 90s. I had no luck but I never gave up. Finally I made an inroad (the Internet can be a wonderful thing). Last year I found a match to the handkerchief on Pinterest (shown below). Text accompanying the photos identified the character as Lilly, from The Adventures of Lovely Lilly.

handkerchief (front view) 

handkerchief (back view)

NOW I was making some headway. Further research revealed that The Adventures of Lovely Lilly was a short-lived newspaper strip that ran in the Sunday New York Herald at the dawn of the 20th century. Written by Carolyn Wells and illustrated by G.F. (George Frederick) Kaber, Lovely Lilly featured an intrepid young lady who faced down fearsome beasts and dispatched them with alacrity. The text featured on the handkerchief reads as follows:

Lovely Lilly met a tiger walking in the wood.
Angrily he snapped and snarled as any tiger would.
By his throat she firmly grabbed him til he held his breath.
With her chubby hands she squeezed him til he choked to death.

Wow. Lilly was certainly no pushover!

A photo of Carolyn Wells and a few examples of Kaber’s non-Lilly art follow:

photo of Carolyn Wells

artwork by G.F. Kaber 

G.F. Kaber signature

artwork by G.F. Kaber 

Here are a few more samples of Lilly’s adventures:



Lovely Lilly in her travels met a buffalo.
Fierce and furious, the creature rushed at Lilly – so!
Naughty! Naughty! Lilly cried with disapproving frown.
Then she stuffed him in her box and shut the cover down.



Lovely Lilly idly watched an elephant draw nigh.
When he glared at her, she looked him squarely in the eye.
When he trumpeted loud and thought he’s rouse her fear,
Lilly only laughed at him, and soundly boxed his ears.



Lovely Lilly out a walking saw a crocodile.
Lovely Lilly said “Good morning” with a pleasant snile.
Nearer came the beast and nearer. Wide he stretched his maw.
Lovely Lilly with a quiet wrench broke the creature’s paw.

While hardly the stuff of sweet childhood dreams, Lilly was not unique when it comes to examples of grisly detail in children’s literature (the Brothers Grimm being one obvious prior example). Without question these were different times and the comic art preceding the First World War and later, the Great Depression were received by a reading public of a different sensibility.

I can only imagine my grandfather as a pre-teen youngster, eagerly devouring the stories of Lilly, Foxy, Yellow Kid, and Happy Hooligan. Perhaps too, the likes of The Katzenjammer Kids, Alphonse and Gaston, Buster Brown, Little Nemo in Slumberland, Mutt & Jeff, or Toonerville Trolley. What an exciting time to be a kid!

Big Planet Comic's Free Comic Book Day 2014

FCBD seems to have sunk into the public's conciousness.

Joel Pollack provided these pictures of the Bethesda store and notes, "...every BPC store had its best day ever. I'm guessing that's true for every participating store in the country. Photos by Stuart McIntire, a customer (box #6) and friend since day one (04/11/86)."

Darn, I'm box #45. It'll take me years to move up!

I'll have some more photographs soon.

Historical note: 1966 Cavalcade of American Comics exhibit updated

I was recently talking to Joel Pollack of Big Planet Comics about chalk talks he saw as a child at the Smithsonian. Since I'm an archivist, I corresponded with their archivist to see if the talks had perhaps been filmed.

Smithonian Archives' Assistant Archivist Ellen Alers responded,

"Chalk Talks" (nine in all) were held in the auditorium at the then Museum of History and Technology (what later became the National Museum of American History). These accompanied the exhibition titled, "Cavalcade of American Comics" that was on display at the Museum of History and Technology, May 2 - July 6, 1966. The exhibit was co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington Evening Star, and Washington Post newspapers.

Cartoonists who gave these talks included: Chester Gould, Allen Saunders, Alfred Andriola, Walt Kelly, Al Capp, Stan Drake, John Liney, Milton Caniff, and Hal Foster.

There is one box containing material from this exhibition and it is Record Unit 334, box 23. It is stored off-site so you'll need to give at least one week's notice before visiting.

I think I will take her up on that and perhaps do a short article for the International Journal of Comic Art at some point. Did anyone else see this show? If so, please leave a comment.

Joel's friend Charlie Roberts contributed his memories of attending:

Due to my work schedule I could only go to the Capp and Caniff talks. A few anecdotes. Al Capp was going to the car afterwards with Art Buchwald. He was pretty grouchy, and wouldn't sign an autograph but Buchwald said "Aw Al, sign the autograph for the kid" and Capp begrudgingly signed . I thanked Art, and Thank him again today (!) Caniff gave a chalk talk, and couldn't have been nicer on and off the stage. I talked to him afterwards about getting a drawing, and he gave me his address. I wrote him, and he sent me the original art to a Steve Canyon daily strip. My First original, inscribed and dated June 1966 ( yes, I still have it!), which led to a lifelong collecting interest in original art as well as appreciation for Caniff art and the artist himself. Caniff was the ultimate Goodwill Cartoonist Ambassador. I met collector Joe Goggin at the event, and within a year or so found out about Comic Fa! ndom, Pa flea markets (and Ted Hake!), Abe Paskow and others . 40 years ago seems like a long time, but also seems like a twinkle in a collectors eye.

7/2020 update by Stuart McIntire:

These creators made twice-daily appearances (10:30am and 2:30pm) Alfred Andriola on 5/14, Walt Kelly on 5/21, Chester Gould on 5/28, Leonard Starr on 6/4, Al Capp on 6/11, Stan Drake on 6/18, John Liney on 6/25, and Al Smith on 7/2. Other cartoonists who made appearances at the exhibit were Allen Saunders on 5/7, Milton Caniff on 5/19, and Johnny Hart and Brant Parker on 5/26. The designer of the exhibit was John Clendenning. 

I never did go down to see that box of records... Somebody remind me after covid-19, please.