M.G. Kettner - Sweet 1920s Panel Cartoon - Guide, Philosopher and Friend

Magnus G. Kettner (1890-1963) was a longtime cartoonist for the Western Newspaper Union (WNU), which provided ready-print pages used by many weekly small-town newspapers to supplement their own sparse content. The WNU pages were distributed throughout the country and would generally be inserted into the pages of the newspaper. Kettner was a featured WNU cartoonist for decades, creating grass-roots cartoons with rotating titles. His work was along the lines of Gaar Williams', and reflected his insight into human nature, with a keen sense of humor. Kettner also had a strong line in his work, and was a wonderful figural artist.

This cartoon, titled Guide, Philosopher and Friend, is from the 1920s, and features a young boy and his friends as they go into a newspaper office, to let the editor know that he has lost his dog. The drawing is really charming, done with ink and litho crayon on pebbled board. "Guide, Philosopher and Friend" comes from Alexander Pope's (1688–1744) poem, "Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to Happiness."