Isabelle Émilie de Tessier (25 September 1847 – 11 June 1890), who worked under the pseudonyms Marie Duval and Ambrose Clarke, was a British

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

, known as co-creator of the seminal cartoon character ''

Ally Sloper Alexander "Ally" Sloper is the eponymous fictional character of the British comic strip ''Ally Sloper''. First appearing in 1867, he is one of the earliest characters in comic strips. Red-nosed and blustery, an archetypal lazy schemer often fo ...

'', the popular character was spun off into his own comic, ''

Ally Sloper's Half Holiday ''Ally Sloper's Half Holiday'' was a British comics magazine, first published on 3 May 1884. It is regarded to be the first comic strip magazine to feature a recurring character. Star Ally Sloper, a blustery, lazy schemer often found "sloping" ...

'', in 1884.

Early life and career

Isabelle Emily Louisa Tessier was born in London on 25 September 1847 to parents of French descent. She initially became a governess but left to become an actor. Her first known appearance on stage was at the

St James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost mone ...

in 1868 when she was in a pantomime. She adopted the stage name ''Marie Duval'', and appeared in plays written by

Charles Henry Ross Charles Henry Ross (1835 – 12 October 1897) was an English writer and cartoonist. Biography Ross created the fictional character Ally Sloper for the British magazine '' Judy'' in 1867, the popular character was spun off into his own comic, '' ...

Career as a cartoonist

In 1869 joined three other women cartoonists contributing to the British satirical magazine '' Judy'', edited by Ross, signing her work as Marie Duval. She also provided illustrations to Ross's 1869 novel ''The Story of a Honeymoon'', using the pseudonym Ambrose Clarke. The Ally Sloper character had been created for ''Judy'' by Ross in 1867 but by 1869, the strips were signed by Duval and Ross before Duval became the main artist on the strip. In 1884, when the Ally Sloper character was given his own magazine, Duval's comic strips were reprinted without her signature. She contributed to ''Judy'' until 1885, and was at times generating over 100 contributions to the magazine each year. This included spot illustrations, cartoons and full-page comic strips. Her work also appeared in British

penny papers Penny Publications, LLC is an American magazine publisher specializing in puzzles, crosswords, sudokus as well as mystery and science fiction magazines. Penny Publications publishes over 85 magazines distributed through newsstands, in stores, ...

and comics from the 1860s to the 1880s. Duval was the author of ''Queens and Kings and Other Things'' (1874), a collection of illustrated nonsense verse published under the pseudonym of "S. A. the Princess Hesse Schwartzbourg". She also co-wrote ''Rattletrap Rhymes and Tootletum Tales: a Big Book for Babies'' (1876) with Ross, using the pseudonym Ambrose Clarke.

Personal life

In 1871, Duval had an affair with Herbert Augustus Such, and was a correspondent in the high profile divorce case brought by his wife in 1873. In 1874, Duval had a child with

, and the family lived in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

. She adopted the name Ross but there are no records of a marriage. Duval died of bronchitis, pneumonia and nephritis on 11 June 1890 in

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

. She was buried in Wandsworth cemetery as Isabella E Ross.

References

Sources

''Ally Sloper''
Don Markstein's Toonopedia

Andy's Early Comics Archive

External links

Top hats off to Marie Duval, a lost Victorian cartoonist sensation
The Guardian, 27 Oct 2014
The Marie Duval Archive
1847 births 1890 deaths 19th-century British women artists British women comic strip cartoonists British comics artists British female comics artists British humorists British women humorists Pseudonymous artists {{cartoonist-stub