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https://theconversation.com/cartoon-detectives-how-australias-most-famous-cartoon-was-lost-and-found-twice-194450>
"A man hangs, precariously, high above the street, holding onto the girder of
an unfinished skyscraper. Around his ankles, a second man holds on for dear
life.
This is no scene of drama, but hilarity. The second man has pulled down the
first’s pants in his desperation to hold onto life, and is lost in laughter.
Grimacing, the first man growls:
For gorsake, stop laughing: this is serious!
Published in 1933, this is Australia’s most famous cartoon, drawn by Stan
Cross.
Labelled an instant classic, bizarrely, this cartoon has twice been lost. Not
only was the original artwork missing for eight decades, the National Library
of Australia’s Trove database holds no record of its first newspaper
publication.
These disappearances – and the diligent detective work required by those who
recovered the cartoon – demonstrate deep flaws in the way Australia maintains
our rich cartoon heritage.
Lindsay Foyle, longtime editorial cartoonist and honorary historian of the
Australian Cartoonists’ Association, has been on the elusive cartoon’s trail
for decades. With him, we recently published what we hope is the definitive
account of its attempts to dodge the cartoon detective and escape the national
record."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
