'Jimmie the Messenger Boy'.
Red W. Shellcope, also known as R. Edward Shellcope and Redw. Shellcope, was an early 20th-century U.S. newspaper cartoonist with the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is most notable as the creator of the gag series 'Jimmie the Messenger Boy' (1903-1913).
Cartooning career
Raymond Edward Shellcope was born in 1879 in the state of Pennsylvania. His earliest one-shot comics appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, including 'The First Silk Tie in Umbooland' (1 September 1901), all signed with "R. Edw. Shellcope", until he changed his signature to "Redw. Shellcope". His earliest feature with some longevity was the Sunday comic 'The Interfering Idiot' (14 September 1902-12 April 1903).
At the same paper, between 1903 and 1912, he was possibly a ghost artist on C.M. Payne's 'Bear Creek Folks', 'Scary William' and 'Coon Hollow Folks'. Between 3 May 1903 and 6 July 1913, the paper's Sunday editions ran Shellcope's signature comic 'Jimmie the Messenger Boy', a gag comic about a pint-sized messenger boy who often got himself into trouble.
Further life
In the late 1900s, Raymond Shellcope was active in the National Guard. As an oarsman, he participated with many boat races. When the United States entered the First World War in 1917, Shellcope was drafted. Around 1922, he married Marie Carter, a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The couple resided in Philadelphia and worked at the Henry Disston & Sons saw mill, until they moved to Ocean City, New Jersey. There, the couple worked as artists and handled art supplies.
Death
It is not exactly known when Shellcope passed away. Alex Jay of the Stripper's Guide website narrowed his death date down to somewhere between November 1946 and March 1947. On 20 January 1949, the Press of Atlantic City reported about the funeral services for the cartoonist's wife Marie C. Shellcope, and mentioned that she had been a widow for about five years. In addition, the paper wrote that Mrs. Shellcope was president of the Women's Auxiliary of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and a long-time member of the church choir.
Illustration for a postcard (1909).