Barney Google and Spark Plug Daily Strip, 4 November 1926 -- Inscribed to Rudolph Dirks

This is one of a handful of Barney Google originals that I know to exist from the English Channel sequence -- Barney takes a boat while poor Spark Plug does the swimming across the channel to win prize money. It was given by DeBeck to Rudolph Dirks (of Katzenjamer Kids/Captain and the Kids fame) and is inscribed: "To Rudy with best wishes from Bill DeBeck 1-3-27." It seems that these two famous comic strip artists were on a first name basis. On the back is written "Mr. Dirks 87th Street."

The original title for the published strip was "Bandits of the Air."