Professor Tigwissel’s Experiment with Blue Glass: Tigwissel Tuesdays #50
In 1877, medical journals and newspapers were filled with efforts to debunk what was being called “Blue Glass Mania” (or, Chromo-Therapy), in which fraudulent healers were claiming they could cure illnesses by bathing people in light passed through color glass. The practice was made popular by Augustus Pleasonton, who experimented with panes of colored glass [...]
“A May Melange”: Tigwissel Tuesdays # 42.5
Since we’re on the cusp of Winter, what better time to run “A May Melange”, by artist Livingston Hopkins? From the front page of the May 1st, 1876 issue of the (New York) Daily Graphic, why, on Earth, am I running this page that clearly has no scientific element? Because, look towards the figure, bottom [...]
That Kentucky Meat Shower — Professor Tigwissel’s Investigation: Tigwissel Tuesdays #27 (+ Revue)
On March 3rd, 1876, a shower of meat — estimated to be about a “horse wagon full” — rained from the sky, near Olympia Springs, Kentucky. This created an excitement amongst numerous scientists, some of whom investigated at the scene, and many who tested the meat to determine what it kind it was, from samples [...]
Professor Tigwissel’s Journalistic Venture, January 15th, 1876: Tigwissel Tuesdays #25
Above, from the front page of the January 15th, 1876 edition of the (New York) Daily Graphic, comes the ninth appearance of this series’ favorite recurring comic strip character, Professor Tigwissel. In Professor Tigwissel’s Journalistic Venture, creator/artist Livingston Hopkins breaks form by having Tigwissel engaged in a non-scientific activity — newspaper editor. Click on the [...]
Professor Tigwissel’s Experiences with New Forces in Nature, January 10th, 1876: Tigwissel Tuesdays, Part 17
Above, we present the eighth misadventure/appearance of artist Livingston Hopkins‘ recurrent Victorian Age comic strip character, Professor Tigwissel. (Click on the above picture, to view it in detail, and read the accompanying text.) Professor Tigwissel’s Experiences with New Forces in Nature, appeared on the front page of the January 10th, 1876 issue of the (New [...]
Tigwissel Tuesdays #14: Tigwissel Jumps the Graphic, December 11th, 1875
We find the seventh appearance of Professor Tigwissel — comic artist Livingston Hopkins‘ re-occurring sequential cartoon strip character — not in Tigwissel’s usual home (New York’s Daily Graphic). Rather, this week’s Tigwissel — titled Professor Tigwissel’s Trip Up the Nile — appeared on the rear page of the December 11th, 1875 issue of Frank Leslie’s [...]
Tigwissel Tuesdays #12: Professor Tigwissel’s Fashion Statement, September 25th, 1875
The sixth appearance of artist Livingston Hopkins‘ continuing comic strip character, Professor Tigwissel, was a two-panel cameo in the above September 25th, 1875 (New York) Daily Graphic cartoon. Titled The Calendar of Fashion — Calling in the White Hats, it’s a commentary on the apparent 1870s fashion faux-pas, of wearing white hats beyond Summer. (Click [...]
Tigwissel Tuesdays #11: Contemporaries: Judy Magazine, October 28, 2025
Jenkinson, by Archibald Chasemore October 28th, 1874 Above, from the October 28th, 1874 issue of Judy magazine, is Episode 51 of artist Archibald Chasemore‘s series, Rattletrap Rhymes. (I do not believe Rattletrap Rhymes contained any continuing characters, but I’ll be honest and say that I haven’t fully checked.) This episode features a highly Tigwissel-appearing egghead [...]
Tigwissel Tuesdays #10: Professor Tigwissel’s Burglar Alarm, September 11th, 1875
We come now, to the moment of some gnashing of teeth. Professor Tigwissel’s Burglar Alarm. Published on the front page of the September 11th, 1875 edition of the (New York) Daily Graphic. The fifth published appearance of artist Livingston Hopkins’ recurring comic strip character, Professor Tigwissel. Let me repeat for emphasis — the fifth appearance. [...]
Tigwissel Tuesdays #8: Midsummer Musings, August 7th, 1875
The fourth published appearance of Professor Tigwissel, is found in an interior page of the August 7th, 1875 edition of the (New York) Daily Graphic. In Midsummer Musings by our Cynical Artist, Livingston Hopkins has assigned Tigwissel only a cameo role consisting of two of the near dozen cartoon panels. Tigwissel’s use here seems forced [...]
