Camera-ready comic art drawing for Winthrop

This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Winthrop comic strip shows the title character’s friend discussing and playing modern popular music when Winthrop asks for an old waltz record instead.

Dick Cavalli (1923- ) began his cartooning career creating pen and ink drawings of museum fossils at New York’s American Museum of Natural History, shortly after the end of World War II. As a freelancer he created and launched the comic strip Morty Meekle in 1956. The name of the syndicated strip was changed to Winthrop in 1966. With the help of several assistants Cavalli continued to draw the strip until 1993. In 1982 Cavalli also drew the comic strip Norbert after creator George Fett's retirement.

Winthrop (1956-1993), introduced with the title Morty Meekle, was a strip about courtship. Morty, the title character, was involved in a long, drawn-out relationship with Jill Wortle, whose family couldn’t wait for the two to become engaged. The obstacles to an engagement included Morty Meekle’s low-paying job. Jill’s younger brother, Winthrop, eventually became the central character of the strip directed to more of a children’s audience. The strip featured an eclectic group of Winthrop’s friends.

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