We continue our presentation of books comic strip fans of one century ago, might have hoped to find beneath their tree. Today, we’re extracting from a copy that actually was given as a present one Christmas (see the gift signature beneath, found written in the book — a common practice in that time which would set modern condition-conscious fans spinning…).

Published in 1912 by the Ball Publishing Company, the Doings of the The Van-Loons by artist Fred I. Leipziger, collects the daily newspaper strip of the same title.

The front cover of the book is shown above. Below (underneath the signature) is the title page, followed by several cartoon pages. As you likely noticed, the gift signature is signed 1922 — a decade after the book was published. The book (not one of the more popular titles) likely sat in a bookstore that long. (Or maybe brother Ted was saving himself a little money, by re-gifting his copy.)

Click on the above & below pictures, to view the pages in detail, and read the word balloons.

Doug Wheeler

Christmas Comics