Ally Sloper's Half Holiday
Encyclopedia
Ally Sloper's Half Holiday was a British comic, first published on 3 May 1884. It has a legitimate claim to being the first comic magazine named after and featuring a regular character. Star Ally Sloper
, a blustery, lazy schemer often found "sloping" through alleys to avoid his landlord and other creditors, had debuted in 1867 in the humour magazine Judy — created by writer and fledgling artist Charles Henry Ross and inked and later fully illustrated by his French wife Emilie de Tessier
under the pseudonym
"Marie Duval" (or "Marie DuVal"; sources differ).
The "half holiday" referred to in the title was the practice in Victorian
Britain
of allowing the workers home at lunchtime on a Saturday, a practice that also established the kick-off times of football
matches.
The black-and-white weekly comic paper Ally Sloper's Half Holiday, typically of eight tabloid pages and priced one penny
, was first published on 3 May 1884, a short time after Ross, had sold the rights to the character to Gilbert Dalziel, an engraver and the publisher of Judy. Initially launching the paper with proprietor W. J. Sinkins, Dalziel was soon in full control, publishing it from "The Sloperies", 99 Shoe Lane, EC. Alongside the strips featuring Sloper, the magazine also featured prose stories and cartoons and strips of other characters.
Sales of the magazine have been estimated as being as high as 350,000, the magazine describing itself as "the largest selling paper in the world". The paper found a mixed audience: aimed at adults it captured both a loyal working class
, male base, as well as attracting a cult following amongst the middle class
of the time.
Although the weekly initially ceased publication on September 9, 1916, after 1,679 issues, it was later revived between November 5, 1922 and April 14, 1923 , again from 1948 to 1949, and finally from 1976 to 1977, each attempt failing to capture the imagination of the British public as the original once had.
William Fletcher Thomas became the artist on the Ally Sloper strips following Baxter's death in 1888.
James Gibbins contributed his expertise in the field of handwriting
, a skill he put forward to the police at the time of the Jack the Ripper
murders, offering to analyse items thought to be authored by the ripper.
Thomas Burke
contributed stories.
or magazine to feature a regular character, and is also often cited as the first comic as well. Half Holiday helped established the financial viability of the medium and codified the British form to an extent visible many years later in publications such as Viz
.
During 1908 CH Chapman was the artist that illustrated the Ally Sloper Character. Chapman was better known as the artrist that drew Billy Bunter from1911 until the Magnet magazine for boys folded in 1940. He continued to illustrate Billy Bunter in Books through the 1950s.
Ally Sloper
Alexander "Ally" Sloper is one of the earliest fictional comic strip characters. Red-nosed and blustery, an archetypal lazy schemer often found "sloping" through alleys to avoid his landlord and other creditors, he was created for the British magazine Judy, by writer and fledgling artist Charles H...
, a blustery, lazy schemer often found "sloping" through alleys to avoid his landlord and other creditors, had debuted in 1867 in the humour magazine Judy — created by writer and fledgling artist Charles Henry Ross and inked and later fully illustrated by his French wife Emilie de Tessier
Emilie de Tessier
Isabelle Emilie de Tessier who worked under the pseudonym Marie Duval, was a French cartoonist, known as co-creator of the seminal cartoon character Ally Sloper.-Biography:...
under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Marie Duval" (or "Marie DuVal"; sources differ).
The "half holiday" referred to in the title was the practice in Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
of allowing the workers home at lunchtime on a Saturday, a practice that also established the kick-off times of football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
matches.
Publication history
Penny
A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...
, was first published on 3 May 1884, a short time after Ross, had sold the rights to the character to Gilbert Dalziel, an engraver and the publisher of Judy. Initially launching the paper with proprietor W. J. Sinkins, Dalziel was soon in full control, publishing it from "The Sloperies", 99 Shoe Lane, EC. Alongside the strips featuring Sloper, the magazine also featured prose stories and cartoons and strips of other characters.
Sales of the magazine have been estimated as being as high as 350,000, the magazine describing itself as "the largest selling paper in the world". The paper found a mixed audience: aimed at adults it captured both a loyal working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
, male base, as well as attracting a cult following amongst the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
of the time.
Although the weekly initially ceased publication on September 9, 1916, after 1,679 issues, it was later revived between November 5, 1922 and April 14, 1923 , again from 1948 to 1949, and finally from 1976 to 1977, each attempt failing to capture the imagination of the British public as the original once had.
Contributors
William Giles Baxter took over art duties for the Sloper character with issue 13.William Fletcher Thomas became the artist on the Ally Sloper strips following Baxter's death in 1888.
James Gibbins contributed his expertise in the field of handwriting
Handwriting
Handwriting is a person's particular & individual style of writing with pen or pencil, which contrasts with "Hand" which is an impersonal and formalised writing style in several historical varieties...
, a skill he put forward to the police at the time of the Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
murders, offering to analyse items thought to be authored by the ripper.
Thomas Burke
Thomas Burke (author)
Thomas Burke was a British author. He was born in Eltham, London.His first successful publication was Limehouse Nights , a collection of stories centered around life in the poverty-stricken Limehouse district of London...
contributed stories.
Influence
The weekly comic paper is widely cited as being the first comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
or magazine to feature a regular character, and is also often cited as the first comic as well. Half Holiday helped established the financial viability of the medium and codified the British form to an extent visible many years later in publications such as Viz
Viz (comic)
Viz is a popular British comic magazine which has been running since 1979.The comic's style parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably The Beano and The Dandy, but with incongruous language, crude toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humour and either sexual or violent storylines...
.
During 1908 CH Chapman was the artist that illustrated the Ally Sloper Character. Chapman was better known as the artrist that drew Billy Bunter from1911 until the Magnet magazine for boys folded in 1940. He continued to illustrate Billy Bunter in Books through the 1950s.
Footnotes
"Comics", Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005. (fan page) p. 19 Ibid., British Museum Ibid., MarksteinExternal links
- Cover image held by the British Library
- Ally Sloper: A collection of 108 cartoons digitized by the University of Alberta Libraries