Leslie Lumsdon (16 October 1912 – 1977) was a popular Australian cartoonist for the ''
Newcastle Morning Herald
The ''Newcastle Herald'' (formerly branded as ''The Herald'') is a local tabloid newspaper published daily, Monday to Saturday, in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is the only local newspaper that serves the greater Hunter Region and ...
''.
Personal life
He was born on 16 October 1912 in
Abermain, New South Wales.
He married his wife Vera on 1 July 1938.
Career
His first job was working at his parents' corner store.
Then he got a job at the advertising department at the Hustler's store in Maitland.
During World War II he worked in the Newcastle camouflage unit.
He spent two years in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
where he made extra money drawing postcards which were popular with American troops.
In 1942 his first cartoon strips on Basil appeared in the ''
South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus
The ''South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus'', also previously published as the ''Wollongong Argus'', and later as the ''South Coast Times'', was a weekly English language newspaper published in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia from 1900 t ...
,'' the
''Muswellbrook Chronicle'' and the ''
Gippsland Times
The ''Gippsland Times'' is a newspaper published in Sale, Victoria, Australia since 1861. It is now part of Fairfax Media's group of regional newspapers.
Its full title is ''The Gippsland Times and Maffra Spectator'', reflecting a takeover of th ...
''. From July 1944 a mouthless boy named Nipper began to appear in cartoons published by the Burnie ''
Advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...
.''
In 1946 he was hired by the ''Newcastle Herald'' as a cartoonist.
He was a popular artist who once emptied seventeen pens signing autographs at a Newcastle Show.
He retired from the ''Newcastle Morning Herald'' in 1977 and died later that year.
Casper the Cat
His most famous drawing was Casper the black cat.
There was public outcry when he drew Casper being drowned in the Newcastle Harbour after failing to pick a Melbourne cup winner.
He published five volumes of cartoons that included Casper.
Exhibitions
* Artists and cartoonists in black and white in 1999 in the S. H. Ervin Gallery, National Trust of Australia (NSW), Sydney, NSW
* 50 years of the newspaper cartoon in Australia in 1973 at the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA
* Fifty Years of Australian Cartooning, 11 September 1964 - 19 September 1964, Blaxland Gallery, Sydney, New South Wales
* Lake Macquarie City Library, Speers Point, New South Wales
* National Trust of Australia (NSW), Sydney, NSW
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lumsdon, Les
Australian cartoonists
1912 births
1977 deaths