Ewer, Raymond Crawford

Raymond Crawford Ewer (October 11, 1888 - June 22, 1915) had a very short cartooning-illustration career. His earliest professional work began appearing around 1908 and his last known pieces are dated 1915. Within those short eight years, Ewer's work really sparkled. His earliest work was fairly simple cartooning, but in 1910 he took over Slim Jim from creator George Frink. Ewer's Slim Jim became a vibrant enterprise, as he began using the page's entire composition to create some stunning Sunday pages. Ewer left Slim Jim in approximately 1913 and began contributing to various publications, including Judge and Puck. It was within the pages of these magazines that Ewer drew what might be considered his strongest, most mature work. Raymond Crawford Ewer passed away on June 22, 1915, due to complications from tuberculosis. Had had apparently been working on a reportage assignment for Puck in early June and became quite ill, from which he never recovered. Ewer was 26 years old. He was buried on August 3, 1915, at the St. Helena Public Cemetery, in Napa County, California.