'Have You Seen, Alonzo?'
Ralph Yardley was an early 20th-century American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the newspaper comics 'Have You Seen Alonzo?' (1908-1909) and the nostalgic cartoon feature 'Do You Remember?' (1922-1952).
Early life and career
Ralph Oswald Yardley was born in 1878 in Stockton, California. He was the son of a grocer. Between 1900 and 1902, Yardley lived in Honolulu, Hawaii, working as a reporter, which once described as "the happiest time of my life." He studied at Mark Hopkins Institute of Art and started his career at the San Francisco Examiner, where he drew spot cartoons for the weather forecasts, starring Jimmy Swinnerton's 'The Little Bears'.
Between 1 February and 15 March 1903, Yardley drew the feature 'The Adventures of Ping and Pong' for the San Francisco Bulletin in February and March of 1903, starring two stereotypically portrayed Chinese people. Yardley served as a staff artist for the Honolulu Advertiser and, from 1905 on, the New York Globe. In New York, Yardley produced cover artwork for magazines as Harper's, Leslie's and Woman's World. In 1919, he opened an advertising studio in San Francisco, where he made daily cartoons for the editorial page of The San Francisco Bulletin.
Have You Seen Alonzo?
Yardley became head of the art department of the San Francisco Call, and in 1908 created the mascot of the Saturday children's supplement, the dog Alonzo. He drew a weekly feature called 'Have You Seen Alonzo?' from 10 October 1908 to 12 June 1909, after which he passed the pencil to Paul Terry. Later artists of the feature were John Terry, Mike Randall, Tam, Jim Navoni and Herbert Morton Stoops.
Do You Remember?
From 1922 until after the Second World War, Yardley was editorial cartoonist for the Stockton Record. He had a weekly feature called 'Do You Remember?' from November 1924 to 1950. Each episode focused on people, locations and events from Stockton's past. Yardley based the artwork on old photographs and his personal memories. On 11 July 1950, the Stockton Record announced Yardley's retirement.
Death and legacy
Ralph Yardley passed away in 1961. A newspaper article from The Focus (November 1927), reflected that Yardley was a photographer who in 1923 went to the mountains with a friend, only to realize they didn't bring the slide of their Graflex magazine with them. As such, they couldn't remove the magazine without exposing their photos to sunlight and thus ruining them. Yardley then got the idea to use his friend's grey, closely woven pants as a dark room. A daft plan, but it proved so effective that Yardley patented his invention.
Cover illustrations for Woman's World, October 1910, and Young's Magazine, June 1913.
Ralph Yardley's Ink Slinger profile on the Stripper's Guide
Alonzo on the Stripper's Guide