[WALLY WALLGREN] Abian A. Wallgren [1891-1948] better known as "Wally" Wallgren, worked as a cartoonist for the Philadelphia Public Ledger and Washington Post before World War I, creating strips like 'Inbad the Sailor' and 'Tired Timothy'. So who was he? A Marine, for starters. An American soldier in the AEF during WW1, Abian "Wally" Wallgren drew comics for "Stars and Stripes." The Stars and Stripes, published exclusively in France during its seventeen-month run, used a layout typical of American newspapers of the day, with wide columns, "all-cap" headlines, and lots of illustrations. The editorial staff assigned to the newspaper was composed mostly of enlisted men, including several career journalists. Second Lieutenant Guy T. Viskniskki from the Wheeler Newspaper Syndicate, New York Times drama critic Alexander Woollcott, bibliophile John Winterich, and cartoonist Abian "Wally" Wallgren of the Washington Post were among those who contributed their experience and skill. Besides expressing editorial opinion, cartoons entertained the troops, offering them humorous stories and images that satirized everyday life in the military. Many of these spoofs, written in 1918 and 1919, remain relevant today. The most popular among the soldiers were Private Abian A."Wally" Wallgren's cartoons and irreverent "Helpful Hints," which poked fun at army conventions from food to uniforms to rank. When a new issue of The Stars and Stripes arrived, the soldiers scanned it first for the cartoons by "Wally" Wallgren. OFFERED HERE are 57 letters (1943-47) from Harold E. Homrig to Wally Wallgren, plus one bank check signed by Wallgren. Most of the letters are from 1946 and all are about Homrig working on a project concerning the exhibition of Wally's cartoons at military sites. Many of the letters have brief handwriting by Wally.

VG