Miscellany Day

Another busy day here in Holtz-land, so I’m going to do a miscellany post.

First, Giuseppe Scapigliati has contacted me asking for an ID on this original comic strip from 1915. I sheepishly had to admit that though it looks very familiar I just can’t place it. Can you help him?

Second, in response to my plea, Aaron Neathery has posted five episodes of the Gasoline Alley radio program. Download them from here and enjoy!

Third, correspondent Philippe Gabillard and I have been discussing the comic strip Babe Bunting by Roy Williams. He tells me the interesting information that the strip was ghosted by Kemp Starrett in 1939-40. What neither of us can verify is the existence of an earlier, ‘original’ version of the strip, possibly titled Bebe Bunting, by Fanny Cory. E&P references it in their syndicate directory, and Ron Goulart writes about it as if he’s seen it, yet I’ve never found a single example. I’ve indexed the Philadelphia Evening Ledger, its supposed home paper, and it just simply isn’t there. Has anyone seen this phantom feature?

Fourth, I got this message about cartoonist Alfred “Pam” Brewerton from Michael Britt, who can be contacted at mbritt@gpb.org. Can anyone help him out? :

Brewerton was not only a cartoonist but a photographer as well. In some research I’m doing on a documentary, he was part of the 1909 Good Roads Tour, sponsored by the Atlanta Journal and New York Herald. He took some pretty remarkable photos on the tour as well as created some pretty insightful cartoons of the motorists. If someone has any idea as to where any archives of his photography my exist, I would be greatly interested.

And finally, thanks to R.C. Harvey with whom I dined last night for a very enjoyable evening. I found out that he’s never been to this blog, but he promises to visit soon. So I guess we’ll have to stop saying nasty thing about him. RC’s new biography of Milton Caniff titled Meanwhile… is coming off the presses even as we speak. I got a sneak preview last night and I can tell you that it is definitely a must read. Order now!!!!

4 comments on “Miscellany Day

  1. The OSU have the BB strips from may 25 to september 7 1935 and says that are by Fanny Cory:
    http://cartoons.osu.edu/finding_aids/sfaca/pdfs/301-400/0342.pdf
    They’re from the Blackbeard collection (there’s a reference image too).
    Maybe from the OSU you can obtain the truth (I hope).
    In Italy the strip was published in 1937/38, but these strips don’t seem (to me) by Fanny Cory, but very probably they’re Williams’ strips.
    –Fortunato

  2. Hi Fortunato –
    That would be Roy Williams’ version. His strip started May 27 1935 (don’t know where they came up with 5/25, maybe a promo strip?). The Cory version was advertised in 1934.

  3. Hello, Allan—The original art you show looks like the work of E.W.Kemble to me.—-Cole Johnson.

  4. Hi Cole –
    Yeah, I think you have something there. I could go along with a Kemble ID on that. I don’t know of him doing newspaper work in 1915, though, and this doesn’t really look like magazine work. Perhaps this is from the Bull Moose Movies series of 1912.

    –Allan

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