16 Cartoonists Jam with Mayor Jimmy Walker in 1927!

The National Cartoonists Society is the recognized professional organization of cartoonists in the United States.  The NCS had its beginnings during WWII, when cartoonists began doing chalk-talks for the USO starting in 1943, as a way of entertaining the troops.  Toni Mendez convinced the cartoonists to put on more organized shows, which she orchestrated.  Starting out by performing for hospitals, the group later started taking military junkets to military bases along the southeastern seaboard.  The cartoonists so enjoyed working together that C.D. Russell, who drew Pete the Tramp, suggested to Rube Goldberg that they form a club so that they could meet after the war.  The National Cartoonists Society was formally organized in the Barberry Room on East 52^nd Street in Manhattan, on March 1 1946.  Rube Goldberg was elected as the first president, with Russell Patterson, C.D. Russell and Milton Caniff to fill the roles of officers.  Toni Mendez, though not a cartoonist, stayed on as a trouble-shooter, later representing more than 50 cartoonists as their agent.

While the National Cartoonists Society is the most recognized organization representing cartoonists in the United States, it was not the first.  In March 1936, during the height of the Great Depression, the Cartoonists Guild of America was formed, to help cartoonists make a living wage during precarious times.  Roland Coe was the guild’s first president and Ned Hilton became the vice-president.  Other members included Garrett Price, Syd Hoff, William Gropper, Abe Birnbaum and Gregor Duncan.  All of these cartoonist/illustrators were well-steeped in the left-wing publications of the time, and Gregor Duncan had previous experience as a union organizer both on the west and east coasts.  There were 81 members in the guild to start and its first action was to blacklist five publications who would not meet its $15.00 minimum payment for magazine cartoonists.  Those publications were College Humor, the Rockefeller Center Weekly, the Voyager, Promenade, and Movie Humor and Real Screen Fun.  According to an article in The Daily Worker appearing on April 7, 1937, the guild won a rate of $20.00 per cartoon from College Humor.  Given the left-wing nature of the original members of the guild, and the fact that many of them had a long history with The Daily Worker, it’s of little surprise that the newspaper gave the organization its best coverage, with numerous articles appearing in 1936 and 1937.  During 1937, the Cartoonists Guild of American published at least 10 issues of OK, it’s official in-house magazine which kept members abreast of the guild’s activities.  This publication is quite scarce, with few scattered issues in collections such as the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.  The New York Public Library has the most complete set that I am aware of, housed in its Rare Book Room.  The guild appears to have petered out by 1938.  There was an organization with the same name that that continued at least into the 1980s, but I do not believe that it was connected to the original Cartoonists Guild of America.  It’s possible that the cartoonists thought it more important to turn their attention to the early rumblings of WWII.

The Cartoonists Guild of American predated the National Cartoonist Society by seven years, but still, it was not the first such organization founded by and for cartoonists.  On December 28, 1926, a group of cartoonists held a “Cartoonists Night” at the Municipal Club in Brooklyn, whose president was John N. Harmon, editor at the Brooklyn Times.   Politician John McCooey acted as the master of ceremonies, with Rube Goldberg acting as the toastmaster.  The dinner was so successful that the cartoonists decided to form an organization.  I know, this is starting to sound like a Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney movie: “Hey kids, let’s put on a show!”  On January 15, 1927, a luncheon was held at the Athletic Club in Manhattan.  In attendance were Goldberg, Harry Hershfield, Tony Sarg, Winsor McCay, and C.R. Macauley.  The main course of action was to arrange for a first annual dinner of the Cartoonists of America.  Macauley was named chairman of the committee to organize this dinner.  A week later, on January 22, the committee met again as guests of Harry Hershfield at the Friars’ Club.  The general committee was a who’s who of comic strip greats, including Clifford Berryman, Billy DeBeck, Ding Darling, TAD Dorgan, Bud Fisher, Fontaine Fox, Billy Ireland, Rollin Kirby, George McManus, Richard Outcault, Tom Powers, Sidney Smith, Jimmy Swinnerton, Eugene Zimmerman and many more.  Clearly these guys didn’t understand that large committees can be like herding cats.  A second committee was in charge of arrangements and entertainment.  That roster had fewer cartoonists, but what a line-up it was.  The committee consisted of Rudolph Dirks, Rube Goldberg, Milt Gross, John Held, Jr., George Herriman, Harry Hershfield, Joe McGurk, Winsor McCay and Tony Sarg.  Oh, to be a fly on the wall of those committee meetings.  But wait, there’s more.  The gentlemen included two women to be members of an honorary committee: Nell Brinkley and Fay King. 

The point of these committees was to arrange for a dinner extravaganza to honor W.A. Rogers, Charles Dana Gibson and Frederick Burr Opper, all revered elder statesmen in the field of cartooning and illustration.  The dinner was held at the Astor Hotel in Manhattan, on March 18, 1927, and what an event it was!  Over 500 people were in attendance.  Hanging from the balconies in the ballroom were large banner-like original drawings by McCay, illustrating cliches of the cartoon craft.  Where are those drawings today?  Harry Hershfield acted as the master of ceremonies, with Mayor Jimmy Walker presiding as toastmaster.  There was a long list of speakers, including the honorees, followed by a bevy of vaudeville acts.  Opper denied the allegations that he was so old that he sketched the Battle of Bunker Hill from life, claiming that “I was delayed”.  Jimmy Walker had long been friendly with many cartoonists.  In the biography “Beau James”, written by Gene Fowler in 1949, we learn that Walker often hung out with folks like Clare Briggs, Harry Hershfield, Arthur Brisbane, TAD Dorgan and Rube Goldberg, among others.  There were many get-togethers in bars and taverns, so Walker and the cartoonists knew each other well.  At the dinner Walker said, “Of all the undeserved honors I have had heaped on me, this is the most mysterious….  I suppose I was asked to preside so that some cartoonist, who has been drawing me for a long time, might have a look at me.  I have been in training for this position for more than a year as the presiding officer of the Board of Estimate.  No one can appreciate a funny gag better than I.  It’s a good thing that I have sense of appreciation, for I surely did appreciate the fun Mr. Opper made of me two years ago.” 

While there is no mention in any of the articles I have discovered about this event, the cartoonists presented Walker with a rather extraordinary gift: a biographical jam drawing created by 16 cartoonists, including some of the greatest cartoonists working in the newspapers of the day.  I’m not sure who coordinated this effort, but all the cartoonists worked for Hearst/King Features, which likely made it easier to create this large group drawing. Titled The Life of James J. Walker, the cartoonists strolled through Walker’s life, starting from birth until his current age of 46⅞.  Walker was born on June 19, 1881, so the dates on the artwork match up perfectly with his birth date.  There are 22 panels in total.  Referring to the chronological panel numbers, the cartoonists who contributed to this piece are:

• 0, 2 – George McManus
• 4, 6 – Harry Hershfield
• 8 – Tom McNamara
• 10 – Ad Carter
• 12, 13 – Walter Hoban
• 14 – Jimmy Murphy
• 16 – George Herriman
• 18 – Jack Callahan
• 21 – Chic Young
• 25 – Ed Verdier
• 30 – Cliff Sterrett
• 35, 37 – TAD Dorgan
• 38 – Milt Gross
• 40, 43 – Rube Goldberg
• 46 – Paul Fung
• 46⅞ – Billy DeBeck
• PS – Unknown

The lettering is consistent throughout the piece, done by either one of the cartoonists or a bullpen artist for King Features.  The piece was executed in ink and watercolor, though the watercolor has faded quite a bit over the past near-100 years.  Still, it is an incredible gathering of luminaries of the comic strip world.  Early in the history of the American comic strip, it was not uncommon for fellow cartoonists to jam together on Sunday pages.  But by the 1920s, it would have been a far more irregular occurrence. 

This dinner was supposed to have been the first annual banquet of the Cartoonists of America.  Unfortunately, it appears to have been the only such event.  There is no mention of the organization beyond 1927, so it went in and out with a tremendous bang, leaving a wonderful piece of history in its wake.

You can view a full-size image of this drawing in my Comic Art Fans gallery.  Just click on the link to get to the super-sized version.

My sincere thanks go out to the King of the Screwballs, Paul Tumey, for information, images and news articles that he generously contributed to this post.  Please, if you haven’t done so already, check out Paul’s wonderful new book about Milt Gross’ little-seen pantomime cartoons from Judge magazine.  The Art of Milt Gross is absolutely packed with terrific imagery and information about Gross’ early magazine work.  It is available only from Amazon at this link.

While you’re at it, check out Paul’s fine YouTube channel.