| H. T. Webster | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).png) 1919 self-portrait forThe Literary Digest | |
| Born | Harold Tucker Webster (1885-09-21)September 21, 1885 Parkersburg, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | September 22, 1952(1952-09-22) (aged 67) |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist |
| Pseudonym(s) | Webster Webby |
Notable works | The Timid Soul (Caspar Milquetoast) |
| Spouse(s) | |
Harold Tucker Webster (September 21, 1885 – September 22, 1952) was an American cartoonist known forThe Timid Soul,Bridge,Life's Darkest Moments and others in his syndicated series which ran from the 1920s into the 1950s. Because he disliked his given name, his readers knew him asH. T. Webster, and his signature was simplyWebster. His friends, however, called himWebby.
Because of the humor and human interest in his cartoons, he was sometimes compared toMark Twain, and his art style was quite similar to the work ofClare Briggs. During his lifetime, Webster drew more than 16,000 single-panel cartoons.
Born inParkersburg, West Virginia in 1885, Webster grew up in the small city (pop. 3,365) ofTomahawk, Wisconsin where his father was a druggist.[1] He began drawing at age seven. When he was 12, he switched from cigarettes to cigars, and that same year he sold his first cartoon for $5 to the magazineRecreation.
He studied drawing from a correspondence course when he was 15, and two years later, he left high school and Tomahawk to study in Chicago at the Frank Holmes School of Illustration, where cartoonistHarry Hershfield had also studied. However, the Holmes School closed only a few weeks after Webster's arrival, bringing an end to his formal art training.[2] With little success as a freelance artist, Webster began a salaried job with theDenver Republican, moving to the rivalDenver Post when he was offered $15 a week as a sports cartoonist. Webster commented, "If they had known it, they could have got me for $1.50".
He returned to Chicago, where he spent three years drawing front-page political cartoons for theChicago Inter Ocean, prompting one politician to introduce a bill in the state legislature forbidding unflattering cartoons. After two years withThe Cincinnati Post, he had enough saved to spend a year traveling around the world. Returning from China, he joined theNew York Tribune in 1912. He married Ethel Worts on August 2, 1916, two weeks after he met her.[1]
In 1952, Webster suffered a heart attack while on a train that was just arriving inStamford, Connecticut; he died shortly thereafter.[3]
The titles of Webster's cartoons reflected the different situations, as inOur Boyhood Ambitions andBridge. In 1924, he moved to theNew York World and soon after addedThe Timid Soul featuringCaspar Milquetoast, a wimpy character whose name is derived frommilk toast. Webster described Caspar Milquetoast as "the man who speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick". The modern dictionary definition ofmilquetoast (meaning a very shy or retiring person) comes from Webster's cartoons.
In 1927 Webster trained himself to draw left-handed in three months after a severe case of arthritis impaired the use of his right hand.[4] In 1931, theWorld folded, and that same year,Simon & Schuster published a collection ofThe Timid Soul reprints. Webster then went back to theNew York Tribune (now known as theNew York Herald Tribune), where he then launched aTimid SoulSunday strip. He alternated his various features throughout the week: Caspar Milquetoast was seen on both Sunday and Monday. Youth's glories (The Thrill That Comes Once in a Lifetime) and the downside (Life's Darkest Moment) appeared on Saturdays and Tuesdays. On Wednesday,The Unseen Audience offered satirical jabs at radio.How to Torture Your Husband (or Wife) was published each Thursday, and the week ended withBridge on Fridays.[1]
During the 1940s, Webster lived at Shippan Point inStamford, Connecticut. His assistant, Herb Roth, took over when Webster died in 1952. When Roth died the following year, the series came to an end with the last new drawing appearing in theNew York Herald Tribune on April 4, 1953.
A cartoon published in a 1923 issue of New York World appears to depict a hypothetical machine which some suggest to be a prediction ofAI-powered art generators by the year 2023.[5]
On June 22, 1949, theDuMont Television Network adaptedThe Timid Soul to television as the premiere presentation of theirProgram Playhouse series. Caspar Milquetoast was portrayed byErnest Truex.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
