Existing comment:
(33) Bootsie. "Brother Bootsie we really appreciate you droppin' in to wish us Merry Chris'mus but we got a few things to do right now, so drop by some other time ... aroun' the first of April for instance!" December 30, 1961.
Published in the Pittsburgh Courier.
Crayon and ink over blue pencil underdrawing.
Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature
Prints and Photographs Division
LC-DIG-ppmsca-03492 (33)
An African American family ready to enjoy their Christmas dinner hastens "Brother Bootsie" out the door in this cartoon by African American artist Oliver W. Harrington (1912-1995). Bootsie, a plump, black Everyman of Harlem first entered Harrington's series Dark Laughter in 1935 in the Amsterdam News. The cartoonist's series on urban black life brought sharp focus to abysmal problems in race relations, yet also depicted home life, as seen in this holiday scenario. Harrington left the U.S. in 1951 for Europe, where he continued his nearly sixty-year career. |