Hambone was a character created by the cartoonist J.P. Alley (1885-1934), who hailed from Sidel, Arkansas, and became an editorial cartoonist with the Memphis Commercial Appeal where he was credited with helping that paper win a Pulitzer for its stand against the KKK. "Hambone's Meditations" was a single panel with Hambone's daily homespun sayings, heavy on the dialect, and the panel was in two book collections, published in 1917 and 1920. Alley based the character on Tom Hunley, a black man who lived in Greenwood, Mississippi. Alley's sons, Jim and Cal, continued the cartoon after his death. Cal Alley was also an editorial cartoonist with the Commercial Appeal, and he did the syndicated comic strip, "The Ryatts," during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1932, their sister, Elizabeth, married Frank Ahlgren, the editor of the Commercial Appeal.
Bhob, Thank you for all that information! You are an endless information source. I wonder if the Hambone rhythm body slapping originated with J.P. Alley.
This is a bit late, but I was surprised to see that Alley was anti-klan, based on my exposure to his work. But what is racially offensive in 2010 might not have been 75 years earlier.
I've uploaded a pdf of one panel from the San Antonio Light in 1931 here: http://markgribben.com/wp-images/hambone.pdf
Hambone was a character created by the cartoonist J.P. Alley (1885-1934), who hailed from Sidel, Arkansas, and became an editorial cartoonist with the Memphis Commercial Appeal where he was credited with helping that paper win a Pulitzer for its stand against the KKK. "Hambone's Meditations" was a single panel with Hambone's daily homespun sayings, heavy on the dialect, and the panel was in two book collections, published in 1917 and 1920. Alley based the character on Tom Hunley, a black man who lived in Greenwood, Mississippi. Alley's sons, Jim and Cal, continued the cartoon after his death. Cal Alley was also an editorial cartoonist with the Commercial Appeal, and he did the syndicated comic strip, "The Ryatts," during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1932, their sister, Elizabeth, married Frank Ahlgren, the editor of the Commercial Appeal.
ReplyDeleteBhob,
ReplyDeleteThank you for all that information! You are an endless information source.
I wonder if the Hambone rhythm body slapping originated with J.P. Alley.
This is a bit late, but I was surprised to see that Alley was anti-klan, based on my exposure to his work. But what is racially offensive in 2010 might not have been 75 years earlier.
ReplyDeleteI've uploaded a pdf of one panel from the San Antonio Light in 1931 here:
http://markgribben.com/wp-images/hambone.pdf