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an old comic strip with a cartoon of a man in a wheelchair and a woman in a wheelchaira beige linen notebook with gold buttons on the coveran old comic strip with a bunch of cartoon characters on itan open book with a poem written on it on a table
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Estimate €10,000 - €15,000
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Description
Comics Swinnerton, Jimmy Jimmy (comic series) – a set of 35 original colour plates (supplements) from one of the first US comic series. New York, 1904–1905. Landscape 4°. Each mounted (removably) on sturdy cardboard with a passe-partout. In a modern cloth-bound volume in landscape folio with screw-bound cover, together with a facsimile set in a cardboard folder within a cloth-bound slipcase. An exceptionally rare, extensive collection of 35 sheets from the early years of 1904 (34) and 1905 (1); sporadic supplements first appearing in the New York Journal, continued until 1958 in various newspapers, mostly later under the title ‘Little Jimmy’. The pages were sent to relatives in Germany by German-Americans before 1914. – Swinnerton created what was probably the first ongoing character in American newspaper cartoons. With his strips about a delightful child who is always getting into trouble, he had a pioneering influence on the development of modern comic culture. James Guilford Swinnerton (1875–1974) is counted amongst the true founding fathers of the American newspaper comic. As early as 1893–1897, with *The Little Bears* for the *San Francisco Examiner*, he created one of the earliest American comic strips featuring talking animals and recurring characters, predating Richard Outcault’s famous *Yellow Kid*. After moving to William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal in 1896–99, Swinnerton initially developed *The Little Tigers* and *Mr Jack*, before launching *Jimmy* – later *Little Jimmy* – on 14 February 1904 – on 14 February 1904, his best-known and longest-running creation to this day. The strip, which centres on a little boy who is notoriously prone to getting into trouble, regularly forgetting his errands or allowing himself to be distracted by all manner of bizarre characters, first appeared sporadically as a Sunday supplement in the New York Journal and was – with interruptions – until Swinnerton’s retirement in 1958; from 1915 it was distributed nationally by the King Features Syndicate and, from 1920, also appeared as a daily strip. In his standard monograph *America’s Great Comic-Strip Artists*, Robert C. Marschall explicitly pays tribute to Swinnerton as one of the great pioneering cartoonists alongside F. B. Opper and R. F. Outcault, and emphasises that he was one of the first to experiment with recurring, recognisable characters – an approach that shaped the entire subsequent development of comic culture as a serial narrative medium featuring established characters. ‘Jimmy’ thus stands at the beginning of that lineage which, via characters such as the Yellow Kid, leads to the narratively more complex series of the following decades. This exceptionally rare collection comprises 35 original colour insert pages, 34 of which date from the series’ founding year, 1904, and one further from 1905 – that is, from the earliest phase of the series, when it was still published irregularly, before it became a regular Sunday feature. Of particular interest in terms of provenance is the fact that the pages were sent by German-American emigrants to relatives in Germany before 1914 – a vivid testament to transatlantic cultural exchange and the popularity of early American newspaper comics even outside the USA, as well as the likely explanation for the exceptional state of preservation of these early original supplements, which have scarcely survived in the USA itself. The pages are mounted individually, in a removable manner, on sturdy cardboard with a passe-partout, and bound in a modern linen binding in landscape format – R. Marschall, *America’s Great Comic-Strip Artists*, pp. 14 and 60: “Swinnerton is one of the great pioneer cartoonists (like F.B. Opper and R.F. Outcault) and he was one of the first cartoonists to experiment with the use of recurring, identifiable characters”. - Most sheets are in good condition (some slightly browned, with minor discolouration or losses along the outer margins; 4 with small losses within the picture area; 7 sheets with larger losses, mostly backed with Japanese paper). Jimmy (Comic Series). - An exceptionally rare, extensive series of 35 issues from the early years of 1904 (34) and 1905 (1); sporadic supplements first appeared in the *New York Journal* and continued until 1958 in various newspapers, mostly under the title *Little Jimmy*. The issues were sent by German-Americans to relatives in Germany before 1914. - Set of 35 original colour plates (inserts) from one of the first US comic series. New York, 1904–1905. Cross-4°. Each sheet is mounted (removably) on sturdy cardboard with a passe-partout. In a modern cloth-bound volume in cross-folio format with a screw-bound cover, together with a facsimile edition in a cardboard folder inside a cloth-bound slipcase. - An extraordinarily rare, comprehensive run of 35 sheets from the earliest years, 1904 (34 sheets) and 1905 (1 sheet), comprising sporadic supplements first published in the New York Journal, which continued until 1958 in various newspapers, mostly later under the title Little Jimmy. The sheets were sent by German-Americans to relatives in Germany before 1914. Swinnerton created what was probably the first recurring character in American newspaper cartoons. With his strips about an adorable child who is constantly getting into trouble, he had a pioneering influence on the development of modern comics culture. James Guilford Swinnerton (1875–1974) ranks among the true founding fathers of the American newspaper comic strip. As early as ‘The Little Bears’ (1893–1897) for the San Francisco Examiner, he created one of the earliest American comic series featuring talking animals and recurring characters, predating Richard Outcault’s famous ‘Yellow Kid’. After moving to William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal in 1896–99, Swinnerton first developed “The Little Tigers” and “Mr Jack” before, on 14 February 1904, bringing to life “Jimmy” – later “Little Jimmy” – his still best-known and longest-running creation. The series, which follows a little boy who is notorious for getting into trouble, regularly forgetting his errands or being distracted by all manner of eccentric characters, initially appeared sporadically as a Sunday supplement in the New York Journal and continued – with interruptions – until Swinnerton’s retirement in 1958, distributed nationally from 1915 onwards by King Features Syndicate and, from 1920, also as a daily strip. In his standard monograph *America’s Great Comic-Strip Artists*, Robert C. Marschall explicitly honours Swinnerton as one of the great pioneering cartoonists alongside F. B. Opper and R. F. Outcault, emphasising that he was one of the first to experiment with recurring, recognisable characters – a device that shaped the entire subsequent development of comics culture as a serial narrative medium featuring fixed characters. ‘Jimmy’ thus marks the beginning of that tradition which, via figures such as the Yellow Kid, leads to the narratively more complex series of the following decades. This exceptionally rare collection comprises 35 original colour supplement sheets, 34 of which date from the series’ inaugural year, 1904, and one further sheet from 1905 – thus originating from the series’ earliest phase, when it was still published irregularly, before it became established as a regular Sunday feature. Of particular interest in terms of its provenance is the fact that the sheets were sent by German-American emigrants to relatives in Germany before 1914 — a vivid testament to transatlantic cultural exchange and to the popularity of early American newspaper comics even outside the United States, and at the same time the likely explanation for the exceptional state of preservation of these early original supplements, which are scarcely documented even in the United States itself. The sheets are individually mounted, in a removable manner, on sturdy card with a matt border, and housed in a modern oblong-folio cloth binding. – R. Marschall, ‘America’s Great Comic-Strip Artists’, pp. 14 and 60: “Swinnerton is one of the great pioneer cartoonists (alongside F. B. Opper and R. F. Outcault) and he was one of the first cartoonists to experiment with the use of recurring, identifiable characters.” Most sheets are in good condition (somewhat browned in places, with minor defects or losses in the outer margin; 4 sheets have a small loss within the picture area; 7 sheets have larger losses, mostly backed with Japanese paper).
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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