Cartoonists at the Theatre: Turn to the Right, 1916
We have one more cartoonist-illustrated theater giveaway for April Fools’ Month, advertising the travelling comedic play Turn to the Right, showing at Garrick Theatre in Philadelphia during the Christmas Season. (An internet search shows this play was at that theater during Christmas 1916, so unless it played there in other years on Christmas as well, [...]
Melville B. Raymond’s “Buster Brown” 1905 promotional comic, Part 3
We continue with our April Fools’ Month extracts from the 1905 promotional giveaway magazine, “Mr. Melville B. Raymond’s Buster Brown”, used to advertise upcoming performances of the touring musical stage play. Above & below, two more Buster Brown Sunday comic strips by Richard Felton Outcault, reprinted in the pamphlet. Click on the above & below [...]
Cartoonists’ Theatre Ads: F. Opper
A number of cartoonists have been involved in theater. One of them was Frederick Burr Opper. Above, a cartoon by Opper, from the October 4th, 1884 issue of Puck magazine. Beneath, Opper illustrated ads for the mid-1880′s play, Mugg’s Landing. These came from a folding card handout. Click on Theatrical Cartoons to find prior postings [...]
Buster Brown Crashes His Own Stage Play, 1905
For today’s April Fools’ Month entry, we have some more extracts scanned from the 1905 promotional giveaway magazine, “Mr. Melville B. Raymond’s Buster Brown”, used to advertise upcoming performances of the touring musical stage play. Above, a self-referential Buster Brown comic strip by his creator, Richard Felton Outcault, poking fun at the Buster Brown stage [...]
Ernie McGee’s Vaudeville Comic Strip Blotters: Harry A. Meyers Agency, 1929
Above, from 1929, a comic strip blotter by artist Ernie McGee, advertising the Harry A. Meyers Entertainment Bureau, booking vaudeville acts. Ernie did “chalk talks” on stage for vaudeville, and apparently did a number of such blotters for different vaudeville agencies. Click here to see two more, plus learn a bunch more about Ernie, posted [...]
Melville B. Raymond’s 1905 “Buster Brown” Musical, Part 1
What would April Fools’ Month be, without its chief prankster, Buster Brown? Buster’s creator, Richard Felton Outcault, turned Buster into one of the earliest mega-merchandised comics characters. Today’s posting is extracted from one of the rarer Buster Brown giveaway comics (and one still not found in the Overstreet listings — I discovered its existence years [...]
African American History Month: Higgins Soap, c1880s
To close out African American History Month, we present the following trade card (i.e., advertising cards) series, given away in the 1880′s by Higgins Soap. While it does have stereotyped dialect (and one use of “Sambo”), it otherwise (in my opinion) avoids a racist presentation. It’s especially refreshing, in comparison to other cartooned soap advertisements [...]
African American History Month: Light & Shade, 1892
WARNING: The below 19th century strip contains racist imagery and language. The 1892 giveaway booklet Light and Shade, advertising Dreydoppel Soap, and containing the below 8-panel story, is (in my opinion) the most heinous piece of comic strip advertising I’ve ever seen. I debated myself over whether I could stomach scanning and posting this horrible, [...]
African American History Month: Geo W. Helme Company, 1888
WARNING: The below 19th century strip contains racist imagery and language. Continuing our coverage of African American History Month, we have today another comic booklet by the Geo. W. Helme Co., manufacturer of Railroad Mills Snuff & Tobacco. Published in 1888, only two decades after the end of slavery, this is an example of how [...]
African American History Month: Nebuchadnezzar Whoa, Sah! c1870s
WARNING: The below 19th century strip contains racist imagery and language. Continuing our African American History Month coverage, we present the circa 1870s fold-out comic strip Nebuchadnezzar Whoa, Sah!, published for Crescent Tobacco, by C.A. Jackson & Co. This giveaway comic, is one of many published in the 19th Century. While all types of products [...]
