COMIC PAPERS, MUSIC HALL & EARLY CINEMA

                                                                                          1880s-1930s

It seems that comic papers and the stage have always been intertwined.  What appeared on the ‘boards’ was soon seen on the pages of the comic weeklies.  And it wasn’t long before the stage reflected what happened within the pages of the comic papers.  An early example was Ally Sloper who, from the early 1880s, was pictured every January in Ally Sloper’s Half-Holiday taking his family to see Augustus Harris’ magnificent pantomimes at Drury Lane.  And it wasn’t long before actors were taking the role of Sloper on stage in popular productions.  Film was no different.  Weary Willie and Tired Tim, created in 1896 by Tom Browne for ‘Chips, were depicted in live action films too.  Between 1903 and 1911 seven short films were made featuring the two tramps by the innovative director William Haggar (1851-1925) who cast his two sons in the roles.  Not long after that animation techniques brought the Daily Mirror’s Pip Squeak and Wilfred to the screen.  By 1915 music hall stars began appearing in the pages of Amalgamated Press comic papers.  Things moved quickly and by 1920 they had morphed into film stars (many of them having their origins in the music halls) who were represented in the weekly Film Fun.  Radio was no different. By 1938 the stars of the ‘wireless’ were given their own weekly with Radio Fun.  And the interchange continues to this day with streaming series and in cinema with blockbuster films.  Cui bono? As they say on the crime dramas.  We all do.  And it deserves to be recorded and  celebrated, which this book sets out to do.  As well, an understandable, common reaction to seeing music hall and film stars in the pages of vintage comic papers is “I’ve never heard of them” and “I wonder who she/he was and what happened to them?”  This book addresses this curiosity with short biographies. The purpose of which is recall the stars’ greatness and enhance the pleasure of seeing them in the publications they appeared in.

COMIC PAPERS, MUSIC HALL & EARLY CINEMA is a small sized (A5), non-profit, limited edition book with 316 pages.  Well-illustrated with many rare titles pictured.  Plus artist, stage and cinema star biographies.  Approximately 31,500 words in total.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR (and also on eBAY) see the following listings for:

1) THE WORK OF C.H. ROSS (Creator of ALLY SLOPER). NEW UPDATED VERSION !!!