Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. Originally independent, it was a subsidiary of
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
from 1930 onwards. At its peak, the Central Press supplied features, columns,
comic strips
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...
, and photographs to more than 400 newspapers and 12 million daily readers. Notable comic strips that originated with Central Press include '' Brick Bradford'', '' Etta Kett'', and '' Muggs McGinnis'' (later titled '' Muggs and Skeeter'').
History
Virgil Venice McNitt (1881–1964), the managing editor of the ''
Cleveland Press
The ''Cleveland Press'' was a daily American newspaper published in Cleveland, Ohio from November 2, 1878, through June 17, 1982. From 1928 to 1966, the paper's editor was Louis B. Seltzer.
Known for many years as one of the country's most inf ...
'', founded the Central Press Association in Cleveland in 1910. In 1912, McNitt acquired the Chicago-based North American Press Syndicate and merged it into the Central Press. That same year, McNitt entered into arrangements to publish works authored by
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...
and
Jane Addams
Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage i ...
. Other early features were Bob Satterfield's cartoons, Edna K. Wooley's column, and a sports column by Ed Bang.
He hired Bryan to cover the 1912 Republican and
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...
s for the Central Press. He also made a deal with Addams to circulate her Progressive Party Platforms to newspaper across the country.
In 1920, McNitt founded a separate, New York City-based Central Press Association, which was soon absorbed by his new McNaught Syndicate (founded in 1922).Watson, Elmo Scott. "CHAPTER VIII: Recent Developments in Syndicate History 1921-1935," ''A History Of Newspaper Syndicates In The United States, 1865-1935'' (Western Newspaper Union, 1936) Archived at ''Stripper's Guide''
By 1925, the original Central Press's features had 12 million daily readers and was the largest newspaper picture service in the United States. In 1927, the Central Press also took over the Editors Feature Service and in August 1929 it acquired control of Johnson Features.
Also in 1929, the company constructed a mechanical production plant in New York, again forming a Central Press Association of New York, Inc. to operate the new plant.
Virgil McNitt remained the president and general manager of the Central Press from its founding in 1910 until 1930, when he sold the service to
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
, part of the Hearst newspaper syndicate, which retained the Central Press as a separate division."Central Press Purchased by King; To Be Operated as Separate Unit: Staff and Features of Cleveland Organization to be Continued Intact — New York Plant Not Included In Purchase — Eichel Shifted to West as Editor," ''Editor & Publisher'' (Feb. 15, 1930) Archived at ''Stripper's Guide'' Accessed Dec. 1, 2018. Frank McLearn was managing editor of the Central Press at the time of the sale, eventually becoming president and general manager of King Features Syndicate.
William H. Ritt wrote sports features and comic strips for the Central Press Association, including the strips '' Brick Bradford'' and ''Chip Collins Adventures'', and possibly ghosting for Gilbert Patten on '' Frank Merriwell's Schooldays''.
Central Press didn't introduce any new comic strips after circa 1934; King Features took over syndication of all Central Press's strips circa 1937.
Murray Rosenblatt was the managing editor of the Central Press from 1946 to 1961.
The Central Press Association continued to operate as a separate division specializing in producing material for small-town newspapersRon Goulart, "The 30s – Boomtime for SF Heroes". '' Starlog'' magazine, January 1981 (pp. 31–35). until ceasing operations in 1971.
Syndicated properties
Features
*''Beauty'' by Madame Rubinstein
*Jess Cargill editorial cartoons
*''Diet and Health,'' by Lulu Hunt Peters
*''Hocus Pocus,'' by Wil Davey
* Dr. Gary C. Myers' psychology series
*''News Notes From Movieland'' (syndicated Sunday column), by Daisy Dean (pseudonym); ran from January 1916 to about March 1936 (with Dean as editor), and to about June 27, 1936 (with no editor listed)
Comics
''Strips and panels that originated with the Central Press Association, the North American Press Syndicate, or Editors' Feature Services:''
* ''Big Sister,'' by Les Forgrave and later Bob Naylor (1928–1972)
* '' Brick Bradford'' by William Ritt and
Clarence Gray
Clarence Gray (November 14, 1901 – January 5, 1957) was an American comic strip artist, best known for drawing the science fiction adventure strip ''Brick Bradford'' for more than two decades.Sara W Duke,''Biographical sketches of cartoonis ...
(1933–1987)
* ''Chip Collins Adventures'' by William Ritt & Jack Wilhelm (July 17, 1934–July 27, 1935) — succeeds ''Frank Merriwell's Schooldays''Holtz, Allan "End of Chip Collins Adventures," ''Stripper's Guide'' (April 29, 2006).
* '' Etta Kett,'' by Paul Robinson (1927–Nov. 23, 1974) — taken over from Putnam Syndicate, where it originated Dec. 1925; accompanied by topper strip ''The Lovebyrds''
* ''The Figgers Family'' by
Victor E. Pazmiño
Victor Estenio Pazmiño (June 24, 1899June 6, 1970) was a cartoonist who was one of the earliest American comic book artists. He drew most of the covers for the seminal comics publication ''The Funnies'' (Dell Publishing), and followed that some y ...
(Jan. 3, 1927 – June 2, 1928)
* '' Frank Merriwell's Schooldays'' by Gilbert Patten & Jack Wilhelm (July 20, 1931–July 14, 1934)Stripper's Guide: A Frank Merriwell Bulletin! May 30th, 2006. — succeeded by ''Chip Collins Adventures''
* ''Goofey Movies,'' by Fred Neher (1920s) — animal strip
* ''High Pressure Pete,'' by George Swanson (1927-1937)
* ''Humorous Slants on Humanity,'' by Clifford McBride (c. 1920s–c. 1930s)
* ''Jimmy Jams'' by
Victor E. Pazmiño
Victor Estenio Pazmiño (June 24, 1899June 6, 1970) was a cartoonist who was one of the earliest American comic book artists. He drew most of the covers for the seminal comics publication ''The Funnies'' (Dell Publishing), and followed that some y ...
Norman E. Brown
Norman Edgar Brown (October 10, 1890 – March 31, 1958) was an American sportswriter and sports editor for the Central Press Association.
Biography
Brown was born in Ohio in October 1890. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Brown was l ...
*William H. Ritt
*Jack Sords
*Al Winfield
Opinion
* ''The Way of the World'' by Grove Patterson (editor of the ''
Toledo Blade
''The Blade'', also known as the ''Toledo Blade'', is a newspaper in Toledo, Ohio published daily online and printed Thursday and Sunday by Block Communications. The newspaper was first published on December 19, 1835.
Overview
The first issue o ...