Epitaph for R. C. Bowman

I wrapped up my post the other day about this year's AAEC convention by mentioning that I used the occasion to donate a 121-year-old book of editorial cartoons to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum.

The cover of R.C. Bowman's book

Okay, it's not on the same level as Monte Wolverton donating a busload of his father's cartoon work to the BICL&M, but my Dad isn't a cartoonist. Although he was in a Vaughn Shoemaker cartoon once and has the original hanging in his office.

Outside of my own blog posts about the book, there isn't much on line about turn-of-the-century Minneapolis Tribune editorial cartoonist Rowland C. Bowman. Part of the reason for that is that he died quite young, overpowered by gas fumes at his home.

Report in Culver (IN) Citizen, June 4, 1903

Which is not to say that Bowman was either obscure or quickly forgotten. The Strand magazine was very impressed with him (and with Minneapolis Journal cartoonist Charles "Bart" Bartholomew) in a 1902 article about U.S. editorial cartoonists. And Syd Hoff included a pair of Bowman cartoons in his 1976 tome Editorial and Political Cartooning: From Earliest Times to the Present With Over 700 Examples from the Works of the World's Greatest Cartoonists.

"Royal Leap Frog" by R.C. Bowman in Minneapolis Tribune, May 30, 1903

Bowman's last editorial cartoon in the Minneapolis Tribune appeared on Saturday, May 30, 1903. Starting on Sunday, May 31, the Tribune began running cartoons by C.F. Naughton in Bowman's front-page spot.

"And When They Grow Up, They Would Not Put Away Childish Things" by C.F. Naughton in Minneapolis Tribune, May 31, 1903

Long-time followers of these Saturday history posts may remember that Naughton was editorial cartoonist at the Duluth Evening Herald in the 19-teens.

If any readers of the Minneapolis Tribune spotted that Bowman had been replaced at the bottom of Page One, they found the explanation on the bottom of Page Eight. I'll be charitable and attribute the Tribune's misspelling his name to the news room's collective grief.

in Minneapolis Tribune, May 31, 1903

The remainder of today's post is the text verbatim of the Minneapolis Tribune article reporting Bowman's death. The Strand piece, which it quotes extensively, mentions cartoons accompanying it. The cartoons interspersed with my transcription of the Tribune's report are from Bowman's 1901 book, not the 1902 Strand article.

"Don't You Want to Buy a Dog"

Roland [sic] C. Bowman, aged 32, cartoonist at The Minneapolis Tribune, poet, author, and entertainer, died yesterday at his home, 2016 James avenue south.

Mr. Bowman's death was sudden, and comes as a terrible shock and profound sorrow to his wife and little ones, his associates in newspaper, art, and literary work, his hosts of personal friends, and to the thousands of men, women, and children all over the country who did not know the man, but loved and respected him for the smiles he had brought into their workaday lives, and the lessons he had taught.

The influence for good of a man like R.C. Bowman is incalculable, and no one knows how many lives will miss the genial and rational pleasure and help derived from his clever, highminded, yet simple and kindly picture stories.

OVERCOME BY GAS

Mr. Bowman was found overcome by gas in his study at 2 o'clock Thursday afternoon by a relative. He was totally unconscious, and finding it impossible to arouse him, a physician was instantly called. In a short time two physicians and a trained nurse were working over him trying to bring him back to life.

Every effort was in vain. No remedy, device, or method known to the science of medicine was omitted in the case, and at times it seemed that it was assuming a hopeful aspect. But the symptoms of recovery were brief and feeble, and the general trend of the case was downward, until, yesterday afternoon, Mr. Bowman died without ever having regained full consciousness or spoken a single word.

He is survived by a widow and two beautiful babies, who were his delight and inspiration, and by a widowed mother and one sister who live in Benton Harbor, Mich., where his body will be taken for burial. Funeral services will be held at his late home in this city, of which an announcement will be made later.

"Getting Scorched"

About six months ago, Mr. Bowman's health broke down slightly under the strain of his work, and since that time he had done his drawing in the restful seclusion of his own home. He had planned for the coming summer an extensive trip through Europe, taken by the advice of his friends for the benefit of his health.

WAS A MICHIGAN BOY

Roland C. Bowman was born in St. Joe, Mich. December 29, 1870. That city and Benton Harbor are divided only by a narrow river, and in the two he spent his boyhood and young manhood, and gathered unconsciously the boyish experiences which were later to be wrought by his genius into sources of mingled smiles and tears to those who knew his work. His memories of school, of work, and of play were colors which he took frequently from the palette of his mind to tint the tender, playful verses and the cartoons of child-life, which he loved most to create.

His marked talent for making pictures which told a humorous or forceful story appeared early in life, and his first work in newspaper illustration was done on a small newspaper in St. Joe. At the age of 19 he contributed illustrations and a few cartoons to the Arkansas Traveler.

"Not Worth Landing"

He never attended an art school, was entirely self-taught, and in a large measure self-developed. From St. Joe he went to Grand Rapids, Mich., where he worked for a time on the staff of the Herald, after which he started for the West.

After a brief sojourn in La Crosse, Wis., where he made chalk plates for a local paper, he came to Minneapolis, and secured a position with the Times, where he did general art work, illustrating, sketching, etc. Nearly seven years ago, after working with the Times six months, he became the cartoonist of the Tribune. His subsequent advance was rapid, but was the well deserved fruit of his genius and tireless industry.

"Rah! Rah! Rah"

He created the irresistible child characters Little Alf and Susan Mary, whose adventures with their Grandpa Tabor in the Sunday Tribune delighted and entertained thousands of children of all ages through the Northwest.

THE FAMOUS DOG

Another creation of Mr. Bowman's, which well illustrated his power of wielding little things, and of touching all he did with a captivating originality, was the famous "dog," which figured in all his cartoon work.

This little animal, which became the household pet of the children of the Northwest, first appeared in a cartoon several years ago, showing the triumphant return to Minneapolis of the baseball team bearing the pennant. Dancing and shouting around the coach which bore the triumphant team, were many quaint and ridiculous figures, among which was the dog. The favorable comments made upon the little canine led to its being introduced again, and still again, until finally Mr. Bowman adopted the quaint plan of putting it into all of his daily cartoons. Occasionally, he would hide the little fellow in a corner, or behind a tree or rock, and then his mail would be full of letters asking where the dog was, or announcing someone's success or failure in discovering it.

"The Run-Away Bill"

"FRECKLES AND TAN"

Of Mr. Bowman's publications the best known is "Freckles and Tan," a collection of clever verses, full of the true spirit of happy simple childhood, which Mr. Bowman possessed in greater measure than many children themselves; and replete with the every day, homely human touches which distinguished and beautified his drawings. Several editions of the little book were issued, and it enjoyed a marked vogue and flattering success.

HIS CHALK TALKS

Mr. Bowman's chalk talks, or illustrated lectures, which have been for several years a most popular entertainment in the Twin Cities and the Northwest, are difficult to describe adequately. Their great charm, so evident to their hearers, is illusive as a butterfly to catch and analyze. Most prominent, however, among their many delightful qualities, and the one, perhaps, to which their peculiar delight was due, is again the human note which sounded so clearly and sweetly through all his work. As he drew his odd, mischievous youngsters, and told of their pranks and plays, their troubles and sorrows, he was one with the little heroes and heroines of his story, and in perfect sympathy also with those who heard him.

"Whoa, Boy"

THE STRAND ARTICLE

His cartoons were widely copied, newspapers the country over making use of them, and reviews and magazines delighting to reproduce them. In a series of articles written for The Strand by Arthur Lord on "American Cartoonists and Their Work," Mr. Bowman's work is analyzed as follows in the issue for October, 1902:

"Mr. R.C. Bowman, of The Minneapolis Tribune, belongs to the ever-spreading good-natured school. This artist, who began at the age of 19 on the Arkansas Traveler, has devoted about twelve years to the art of caricature, and he possesses theories about his work which many a less-known man might take to heart, with accruing advantage to himself and the public. Bowman believes that a cartoon can be to the point without being malicious, and that it is not necessary to make ogres of men in order to show that you differ with them politically. A running glance at his various cartoons shows that Mr. Bowman has pronounced ideas of right and wrong, and that he takes his stand conscientiously on all matters of social and political import, but you will hunt in vain for any trace of partisan spleen. During the five years that he has been with the Tribune his output has been as enormous as its scope has been varied, and the friendships he has made have been not only among those of his own party, but also among his political foes. The man who laughs most heartily at a cartoon when that cartoon is good-humored is very often the subject of the cartoon himself. Where Davenport, in short, would make an enemy, Bowman would make a friend, so great is the difference in the styles of the two men.

"Of Course It's Heavy. But Think of the Glory"

"Bowman is a careful student of politics, and his picture editorials always present a strong argument. He possesses a rare originality, and spontaneous humor and that his drawings are well thought out is proved by their simplicity in detail. Bowman is a humorist and not a satirist, and has attained his success through adherence to well-defined principles of directness, simplicity and gentleness. The Tribune reader opens his paper with the knowledge that he is not going to squirm.

"Look, by the way, at Bowman's cartoons, and see if you can find the dog. The Bowman dog has become famous. This remarkable little canine which the cartoonist introduces into nearly all of his work is full of expression and the keynote of the story [is] often found in the antics of the pup. If he is scared, in common with the elephant and the donkey, at the advent of the Third Party, you will find him running into the distance with marvelous alacrity. He rests, with wonder-eyed demureness, beside Carnegie and Morgan, while John Bull tacks down his island, and when the battleship Kentucky arrives off the coast of Turkey, he is — well, find him for yourself. If the small boys of Minneapolis, as is said, may be found chalking Bowman's dog on sidewalks and fences, it is proof of the popularity of the cartoonist, which needs no further to be proved.

"The Meanderings of Willie and Little Steve" (from a series)

"Bowman has a great fondness for children, and we believe that it is his highest ambition to become a successful writer of child's verse. He has already published one volume which contains verse of this sort that may reasonably be compared with the late Eugene Field. He is also a "chalk talker" and indulges now and then in a funny lecture, which he illustrates with his own hand. In our photograph you may [see in] him an able bodied, happy and good natured gentleman, standing by the side of his blackboard as if in lecture pose, and from the appearance of the man and examples of his work we may easily understand the quality of the reputation made by him throughout the great and enterprising West."

"It Turns Out to Be a Hornet's Nest"

The following verses from "Freckles and Tan," page 12, is a good illustration of Mr. Bowman's child poems.

THE ODE TO THE HAIR BRUSH

"Mandy, Pass Up Here and Let Me Give You Another Slice of the Paramount Issue"