McClure Newspaper Syndicate, the first American

newspaper syndicate Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, political cartoons, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. The syndicates offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content ...

, introduced many American and British writers to the masses. Launched in 1884 by publisher Samuel S. McClure, it was the first successful company of its kind. It turned the marketing of comic strips,

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...

, book serials and other editorial matter into a large industry, and a century later, 300 syndicates were distributing 10,000 features with combined sales of $100 million a year.

History

In 1886, McClure's college friend, John Sanborn Phillips, joined the Syndicate, and his cousin, Henry Herbert McClure, was also on the staff. Samuel McClure's brother, Robert McClure, was in charge of the London office. Allen Sangree had a position with the McClure Syndicate in 1892. In 1914, the McClure family sold the Syndicate to J. C. Brainard, who acquired the

Wheeler Syndicate John Neville Wheeler (April 11, 1886 – October 13, 1973) was an American newspaperman, publishing executive, magazine editor, and writer. He was born in Yonkers, New York, graduated Columbia University (which holds a collection of his paper ...

in 1916. Brainard sold the McClure Syndicate to Richard H. Waldo in 1928.Watson, Elmo Scott. "CHAPTER VIII: Recent Developments in Syndicate History 1921-1935," 'History of Newspaper Syndicates''
Archived at ''Stripper's Guide''
After Waldo died in 1943, his widow, Adelaide P. Waldo, ran the syndicate for three years, passing it on to James L. Lenahan in 1946. Lenahan's failure to meet a due payment on the stock led to a September 1952 auction when it was acquired by

Ernest Cuneo Ernest L. Cuneo (May 27, 1905 – March 1, 1988)
''The New York Times'', March ...

, head of the

Bell Syndicate The Bell Syndicate, launched in 1916 by editor-publisher John Neville Wheeler, was an American syndicate that distributed columns, fiction, feature articles and comic strips to newspapers for decades. It was located in New York City at 247 West 4 ...

- North American Newspaper Alliance group, with Louis Ruppel installed as president and editor.Knoll, Erwin
"McClure Syndicate Sold to Bell-NANA"
''Editor & Publisher'' (September 6, 1952).

Writers

As America's first profitable literary syndicate, the company bought an author's work for about $150 and then sold the right to print it to a newspaper for five dollars. The company lost money during its first few years, eventually turning a profit while distributing and promoting such American luminaries as George Ade, John Kendrick Bangs,

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 ...

Joel Chandler Harris Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a planta ...

William Dean Howells William Dean Howells (; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', ...

, Fannie Hurst,

Sarah Orne Jewett Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett (September 3, 1849 – June 24, 1909) was an American novelist, short story writer and poet, best known for her local color works set along or near the southern coast of Maine. Jewett is recognized as an important ...

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, Mark Twain and

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

. The roster of British writers included G. K. Chesterton, Arthur Conan Doyle,

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

and

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Calvin Coolidge. In the 1930s, the syndicate distributed a number of "''Whirligig''" columns: Louis M. Schneider's ''Financial Whirligig'', Frederic Sondern's ''European Whirligig'', Ray Tucker's ''Washington Whirligig'', and ''National Whirligig'' (1934–1936).

Cartoonists

One early McClure comic strip artist was Carl Thomas Anderson, who drew ''Herr Spiegelberger, the Amateur Cracksman'' beginning in 1903. In 1916, McClure purchased the Wheeler Syndicate from

John Neville Wheeler John Neville Wheeler (April 11, 1886 – October 13, 1973) was an American newspaperman, publishing executive, magazine editor, and writer. He was born in Yonkers, New York, graduated Columbia University (which holds a collection of his papers ...

. Another early comic strip artist with McClure was

Percy Crosby Percy Lee CrosbyPercy Lee Crosby
at FamilySearch.org. Retrieved on January 8, 2016 ...

. Commissioned a second lieutenant in the Officer Reserve Corps in 1916 and being called to active service the following year, Crosby was in training at a camp in Plattsburgh, New York. While in training, Crosby created a daily comic panel, ''That Rookie from the Thirteenth Squad'', for the McClure Syndicate, writing and drawing it from the front in France while serving as a first lieutenant in the 77th Division, AEF. The panel was collected into his first two books, ''That Rookie of the Thirteenth Squad'' (1917) and ''Between Shots'' (1919). The syndicate also introduced newspaper readers to the art of

James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American artist, comics artist and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters, particularly his 1 ...

and the early cartoons of

Clare Victor Dwiggins Clare Victor Dwiggins (June 16, 1874 – October 26, 1958) was an American cartoonist who signed his work Dwig. Dwiggins created a number of comic strips and single-panel cartoons for various American newspapers and newspaper syndicates from 18 ...

and Rube Goldberg.

Editors

After employment as a newspaperman in Arizona, California and Hawaii, Harold Matson worked for the McClure Syndicate as a roving correspondent and became managing editor by 1930. Matson later became a literary agent to some of the most illustrious authors in the world.

Sheldon Mayer Sheldon Mayer (; April 1, 1917 – December 21, 1991) was an American comics artist, writer, and editor. One of the earliest employees of Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied Publications, Mayer produced almost all of his comics wor ...

also joined the Syndicate as an editor in 1936. Some the McClure strips were reprinted during the 1930s in '' Funnies on Parade''. In addition to comic strips and feature articles, McClure also syndicated books and stories. In 1938,

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...

sold his first story to the McClure Syndicate, which bought many of his early, mainstream stories before he became known for his science fiction. In the late 1930s, the company was located at 75 West Street in New York City.

McClure comic strips

* ''Alfred'' by Carl Ryman (October 17, 1949 – 1954) — became part of the Bell-McClure Syndicate *'' Archie'' by Bob Montana (1947–c. 1952) *'' Batman and Robin'' by

Bob Kane Robert Kane (born Robert Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman (with Bill Finger) and most early related characters for DC comics. He was inducted into the comi ...

, Don Cameron,

Bill Finger Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatur ...

, Jack Schiff, Alvin Schwartz, and

Fred Ray Frederic E. "Fred" Ray, Jr. (February 4, 1920 – January 23, 2001)Dates and spelling of name peFrederic E.Ray Social Security Number 204-03-7262, aSocial Security Death Index Source gives birthplace and "Jr." was an American comic book artist a ...

(1943–1946) * ''Betty'' by Charles Voight (c. 1919–c.1920) — Sunday-only strip; moved to the

New York Herald Tribune Syndicate The New York Herald Tribune Syndicate was the syndication service of the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Syndicating comic strips and newspaper columns, it operated from c. 1914 to 1966. The syndicate's most notable strips were ''Mr. and Mrs.'', '' ...

(where it ran for twenty years) * ''

Billy Bounce Billy Bounce was a comic strip published erratically by noted illustrator W. W. Denslow (1901–1902) and later C. W. Kahles (1902–1905) between November 10, 1901, and December 3, 1905. The strip centers on the actions of the title character ...

'' by W. W. Denslow and C. W. Kahles (1901–1906)''Billy Bounce''
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on June 11, 2015. *''

Bobby Thatcher ''Bobby Thatcher'' was an American newspaper adventure comic strip created by the cartoonist George Storm. Storm launched ''Bobby Thatcher'' March 21, 1927, for the McClure Syndicate. The series ran until October 16, 1937. Sheldon Mayer worke ...

'' by George Storm (1927–1937) * ''Buzz and Snooze'' by Ken Kling (1918-1919) * ''The District School'' by

(Sunday strip, 1914) * ''A Dog's Life'' by

(Sunday strip, 1926–1929) * ''Foolish Ferdinand'' by William F. Marriner (December 1901 – 1904)Marriner entry
Lambiek's ''Comiclopedia''. Accessed Nov. 18, 2018. * '' Hambone's Meditations'' by James Pinckney Alley (launched in 1916; soon moved to the

) *''Herr Spiegelberger, the Amateur Cracksman'' by Carl Thomas Anderson (1903–c. 1905) *''

Home Sweet Home Home Sweet Home may refer to: Film * Home, Sweet Home (1914 film), ''Home, Sweet Home'' (1914 film), a film about the life of John Howard Payne * Home Sweet Home (1917 film), ''Home Sweet Home'' (1917 film), a British silent film * Home Sweet ...

'' by Harry J. Tuthill (1918–1924) * ''Home Wanted for Tags'' by

(1910–1919) *'' King Aroo'' by Jack Kent (1950–1965) — became part of the Bell-McClure Syndicate * ''Mary and Her Little Lamb'' by William F. Marriner (1906–1909) * ''Mrs. Bumps Boarding House'' by

(Sunday gag panel, 1913) *''Noahzark Hotel'' by Varb (

Raoul Barré Vital Achille Raoul Barré (January 29, 1874 – May 21, 1932) was a Canadian and American cartoonist, animator of the silent film era, and painter. Initially known as a political cartoonist, he originated the French Canadian comic strip, then cro ...

) (January 12–November 9, 1913) * '' O. Henry's Short Stories'' by John Hix and Bertram Elliott (June 11–July 28, 1928)"Obscurity of the Day: O. Henry's Short Stories,"
''Stripper's Guide'' (October 05, 2005). *''Once Upon a Time'' by Walter J. Enright (June 1, 1925 – August 5, 1926; reprints until 1929) — printed in some newspapers until the title ''Make-A-Book'' * ''Ophelia's Slate'' by

(1927–1929) *''Poor Ol' Robinson Crusoe'' by Everett Lowry (1909–1911) — pre-syndication (launched in 1903) titled ''Peg Leg Pete'' and then ''Barnacle Bill'' *''Roger Lincoln, S-Man'' by Milton Luros (1948-1952) * ''Sambo and His Funny Noises'' by William F. Marriner (1905 – 1913) * ''School Days'' by

(1917, 1927–1929) — also known as ''The School Days of Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn''"School Days"
''Don Markstein's Toonopedia'' (toonpedia.com). Retrieved 2016-09-01. *'' Strange as It Seems'' by John Hix (1928–1970)Stephen D. Becker, ''Comic Art In America'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959), pp. 159, 326, 327, 366. — became part of the Bell-McClure Syndicate *'' Superman'' originally by

Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, i ...

and

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...

(1939–1967) — became part of the Bell-McClure Syndicate *''That Rookie from the Thirteenth Squad'' by

Percy Crosby Percy Lee CrosbyPercy Lee Crosby
at FamilySearch.org. Retrieved on January 8, 2016 ...

(c. 1917–c. 1918) *'' There Oughta Be a Law!'' by Al Fagaly and

Harry Shorten Harry Shorten (1914–1991) was an American writer, editor, and book publisher best known for the syndicated gag cartoon ''There Oughta Be a Law!'', as well as his work with Archie Comics, and his long association with Archie's publishers Louis Si ...

(later

Frank Borth Frank M. Borth III (April 1, 1918 – August 9, 2009) was an American comic book artist. Biography Borth was born and raised in Cleveland, eventually graduating in 1940 from the Cleveland School of Art, where he majored in illustration."New Sea A ...

, Warren Whipple and Mort Gerberg) (1944–1984) — strip later moved to

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along ...

"GREEN SHEET, THROWBACK THURSDAY — COMICS EDITION: 'There Oughta Be a Law!' tapped readers for material,"
''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' (May 05, 2016). * ''Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn'' by

(Daily/Sunday, 1918–1931)) * ''Uncle Jim and Tad and Tim'' by

(Sunday gag panel, 1913–1914)Dwiggins entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. Accessed Nov. 23, 2017. * ''Young

Frank Merriwell Frank Merriwell is a fictional character appearing in a series of novels and short stories by Gilbert Patten, who wrote under the pseudonym Burt L. Standish. The character appeared in over 300 dime novels between 1896 and 1930 (some between 1927 a ...

'' by Gilbert Patten and John Hix (March 26–September 28, 1928)Holtz, Allan
"A Frank Merriwell Bulletin!"
''Stripper's Guide'' (May 30, 2006).

References