Oscar F. Howard - Everyday Movies - 1924

Even after collecting this cartoon art stuff for 40 years, I get surprised from time-to-time. I'd never heard of O.F. Howard before spotting this piece, but it turns out that Oscar Howard was an early contributor to the New Yorker, with work appearing in the very first issue. I guess it doesn't get any earlier than that.

This piece appeared in the feature Everyday Movies, which was a daily panel known to most folks as Metropolitan Movies. I hadn't realized that there were cartoonists who worked on the feature before the wonderful Denys Wortman, but it turns out that Rollin Kirby started the panel in the 1910s, with a number of other artists taking a turn at bat, including Robert Minor, and Oscar Howard. This piece appeared on July 31, 1924, a couple of years before Wortman stepped in and took over for the duration, until the 1950s.

There are too similar-but-different captions that came with the piece. On the cartoon itself it says, "Willie, why do I never see you with some of the more intellectual young people?" On the mat, it stated, "William, why do I never see you with some of the more intelligent girls?" I don't know which version saw print. The drawing is quite reminiscent of George Clark's work, though Clark didn't really get going until a few years later. The piece was drawn in brush and ink and charcoal.