'It's Only Ethelinda' (5 June 1909).
Grif was an early 20th-century (presumably American) newspaper cartoonist about whom nothing is known. He nevertheless had a comic strip of a certain durability, 'It's Only Ethelinda' (1908-1910), widely circulated in the Philadelphia North American and additionally distributed to other newspapers through the North American Syndicate.
Early comics (in The Boston Globe)
The earliest mention of the comic artist signing with "Grif" appeared in The Boston Globe in the mid-1900s, when he drew a couple of short-lived Sunday comics. Between 9 October and 15 November 1904, his name was attached to the gag feature 'The Commodore', about a bumbling naval officer. Grif lauched another gag comic between 8 January and 25 June 1905, titled 'The Admiral'. While no information is available about its content, it appears to have been either a sequel to 'The Commodore', or perhaps a reprint under a different title. Between 15 May and 6 November 1905, Grif also drew 'Grandpa' for the Boston Globe.
'The Commodore' (Boston Globe, 9 October 1904).
It's Only Ethelinda
On 23 August 1908, Grif launched what appears to have been his longest-running gag comic, 'It's Only Ethelinda' (1908-1910), printed on Sundays in The Philadelphia North American. Ethelinda is a young woman who frequently runs into trouble because she overestimates her own abilities. Still, several episodes of the comic are unsigned. Some have "Grif" as a signature, which might hint at Syd B. Griffin. However, Allan Holtz of Stripper's Guide doubts this assumption because the graphic style is notably different and Griffin's cartooning career was all regulated to New York syndicates, rather than Philadelphia. The final episode of 'It's Only Ethelinda' was printed on 17 July 1910.
Despite being a mere footnote in comic history, 'It's Only Ethelinda' is still notable as one of the few early comics to star a female protagonist. The earliest comic strip in this field is 'The Adventures of Miss Lavinia Brounjones' (1866) by the English cartoonist Charles Keene, but this was still a text comic. Up next are Gene Carr's 'Lady Bountiful' (1901), Grace Drayton's 'Toddles' (1903-1933, later renamed 'Dolly Dimples'), Winsor McCay's 'Hungry Henrietta' (1905), Émile-Joseph Pinchon's 'Bécassine' (1905) and André Vallet and Jo Valle's 'L'Espiègle Lili' (1909-1998).
Equally unusual is that Ethelinda isn't merely there to look pretty, be oogled by men or play second fiddle to a male protagonist. In fact, she stars in most episodes and serves as a humorous character. Other than 'Bécassine', few female comic strip protagonists from the early 20th century were cast in such a role. In terms of gag comics about a clumsy young female, Ethelinda could be considered the grandmother of Jan Steeman and Patty Klein's 'Noortje' from the Netherlands (1975-2017).
'It's Only Ethelinda' (Salt Lake Herald Republican, 24 April 1910).