From the Dick Buchanan Files: "Those Cartoonists!" from This Week Magazine, January 7, 1945.

Dick Buchanan was going through some old This Week Magazines when he came across an article about cartoonists some folks may find interesting.  It was written by Charles D. Rice, Jr. and appeared in This Week Magazine January 7, 1945.    

 

"You probably remember This Week.  It was a nationally syndicated newspaper supplement which was included with the Sunday newspapers.  It was published from 1935 to 1969.  At its peak it reached a circulation of over 14 million readers, far outstripping Collier's Look and The Saturday Evening Post. 

"They published most of the major cartoonists of the era including Hank Ketcham, Virgil Partch, Ton Smits, Martha Blanchard, Barney Tobey et al."

Here's a scan of the complete two page "Those Cartoonists!" article by Charles D. Rice, Jr. It's a lovely feature, reminding us that at that time, in the last year of the war, books of cartoons were very popular as overseas gifts to our servicepeople. The article looks at several cartoonists (Gardner Rea, Peter Arno, Reamer Keller, Frank Beaven, the Roth brothers (Irving Roir, Salo, Ben Roth, Al Ross), Lawrence Lariar, Virgil "VIP" Partch, Dave Huffine, Louis Priscilla, Bill King, Syd Hoff, Mischa Richter, Merrylen Townsend, Eric Ericson, George Green, Eric Peters), how much they make and their workaday lives, producing gags (A number use "gag men" writers.).

"Are they as goofy as the drawings you laugh at? No; They're businessmen -- and often big business too"