ter.ri.to.ri.al.i.ty n. The behavior of a male animal that defines and defends its territory. cu.ra.to.ri.al.i.ty™ n. The behavior of a curator that defines and defends his collection and its history.
The story of comic books in America is big and bold enough to deserve its own special museum-within-a-museum, as we saw last time, but now that you've seen how comic characters thrived in their native medium, it's time to take an even more expansive journey to see how comic books fit into a much bigger picture. For that tale, we move on to our first historic gallery.
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PIONEER SPIRIT: 1776-1894
Once you get past the rich rust backdrop and ornate woodwork in this room, there's one special item that should catch your eye, although you're likely to walk right past it on your way into the gallery. It's on the left-side wall as you enter from the hallway – a small cartoon panel nestled on the page of an otherwise nondescript newspaper and bearing the legend "JOIN, or DIE." That's right, Ben Franklin's historic cartoon rallying support for the French and Indian war among his fellow colonials is there on the wall, taunting us with the fact that it's actually from May 9, 1754 and therefore technically outside the era represented by the gallery. But how could we resist starting the room with the date of America's independence, and how could we not include a few items that date earlier but provide invaluable insight into the development of comic and cartoon art? I knew you'd understand. This page from Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette features what many consider to be the very first editorial cartoon. While it may not be the first per se, it certainly has an iconic stature in the annals of American history, and it's a powerful illustration of how comics can be used for purposes of far greater import than just the entertainment of children. Not just funny books for kids indeed.
Throughout this gallery we also present a collection of toys and playthings that illustrate what American children used to pass the time back at the beginning of our nation's history. From glass marbles and dolls to boats, trains, and automobiles, toys not only provided a way to fill the very small amount of leisure time afforded a child in that era but subtly slipped in some education about the adult world they would soon join. But in all these examples, you'll notice a distinct lack of character; that is, until 1883...
In a time when comic characters weren't exactly prominent in American culture, it took one man with the vision to transform bits of Scottish folklore and children's stories from several traditions into a unique cast of characters that not only embodied different ethnicities and walks of life but taught both children and adults about morality, ethics, and the power of comic characters to serve as merchandising icons. The man was Palmer Cox, and the spritely creatures he created were the Brownies.
Cox's work had appeared in Wild Oats and The San Francisco Examiner, but it was with the Brownies and their introduction in the pages of St. Nicholas magazine that he made his bid for pop culture immortality. By today's aesthetic standards, the Brownies might be seen as a bit more eerie than enticing, but by all accounts, these popular pixies were a sensation with children and parents. There was also a strong moral streak to the Brownies' adventures, which certainly helped to encourage parents in allowing their children to play with Brownies blocks, puzzles, and printing sets. Brownies also left their mark through the licensed Kodak "Brownie" camera, Log Cabin Brownies Biscuits, magazines, books, candlestick holders, creamers, stickpins, and even musical stage productions.
The Brownies were the first successful commercialized comic characters. The triumph of their marketing machine not only demonstrated the power of characters to communicate and sell, but laid the foundation for countless similar campaigns that brought iconic figures emblazoned onto thousands of products into every American home for decades to come.
The Brownies are also the ancestors of many other sets of fairy-like characters, such as the Smurfs or the Pokémon "Pocket Monsters." History repeats itself, as we all know, and in the realm of comic character marketing, there's no point in reinventing the wheel... or the Brownie. So we've seen Palmer Cox's vision trundled out again and again in different guises, but always with the same basic structure. The Brownies were more than just entertainment or product pitchmen; they were the symbols of Pioneer Spirit, and that spirit lives on in our modern pop culture everywhere we look.
Next time, we'll see how comic characters proliferated on the colorful newspaper comic pages while a fledgling literary genre took shape and silent films introduced the magic of motion pictures to a wide-eyed generation. As America left one century for another, comic characters carried the country from storm-filled skies to cloudless blue heavens...
This is a guest article. The thoughts and opinions in the piece are those of their author and are not necessarily the thoughts of the Certified Collectibles Group.
