The Chapter on the early 20th century origins of Alfred E. Neuman in Modern Arf was one of the most popular sections. The Boston Globe asked me about it and quoted me as saying, “Gee, I hate to say this to the Boston Globe but the World Village Idiot that eventually became Mad’s Mascot was probably based on old cartoonist’s caricatures of Irish boys”.

The cartoonist/artist Ellen Clapsaddle illustrated over 2,000 postcards and many of them were St. Patrick’s Day and Irish themes featuring a character that bore a lot of resemblance to the What Me Worry Kid.

Clapsaddle got her early art training at Cooper Institute in NYC. She became the sole designer of cards for the Wolf Company a major postcard publisher. During a trip to Germany in 1914 to work with engravers there Ellen got entangled in the outbreak of WWI. “Factories were burned, records destroyed, and messages never received. It wasn’t long before she became a displaced person, penniless and alone in a foreign land.”

Her publisher went to Germany to search for Clapsaddle and found her destitute, sick, and wandering the streets. She barely recognized Mr.Wolf. The Wolf man brought her back to the United States. But her health had declined to the point that she was no longer able to earn a living. On January 27, 1932, Clapsaddle was admitted to the Peabody Home in New York City. The once famed artist had lost all mental reasoning and sat on the floor and played with toys until she kicked the bucket two years later. What Me Worry? Happy St. Patrick’s Day! To see a slide show of Ellen Clapsaddle’s Irish Alfred E. Neuman-esque postcards click the image below.

(click for a slideshow of Alfread E. Neuman-esque postcards)