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Jimmy Swinnerton - Original Comic Strip Art for

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Comics Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
Jimmy Swinnerton - Original Comic Strip Art for
Jimmy Swinnerton - Original Comic Strip Art for Mr. Jack (Hearst Syndicate, undated). One of the earliest American comic strip artists (Swinnerton's first efforts predate The Yellow Kid by several years), James Guilford "Jimmy" Swinnerton had his first cartoons published in the San Francisco Examiner in 1892! The adorable little bear cubs he initially drew to accompany the local weather report caught on, and soon, his first strip, Little Bears (often cited as the first American cartoon to feature continuing characters) was born. Swinnerton soon added charming small children to his cartoons, and on June 1, 1892, Little Bears & Tykes debuted. Success came quickly to Swinnerton after that, and, after moving to William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal in 1896, he traded in the bear cub for tigers (reminiscent of Thomas Nast's "Tammany Tigers," used to represent the local Democratic party) and began Mr. Jack. Swinnerton's greatest success, however, was still before him: in 1904 he would create Little Jimmy, the feature for which he is best remembered today. The Mr. Jack example offered here is prime Swinnerton: the titular hero tries to impress an attractive lady tiger, to his eventual chagrin. In excellent condition and measuring approximately 10.75" x 12.25" overall, the piece is signed by Swinnerton in the last panel. Important notice: Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 20% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid.