Clare Briggs

Clare Briggs is a famous cartoonist who lived from 1875 to 1930. Poems by Wilbur Nesbitt.

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5 Responses

  1. Michael Cain says:

    I seem to be reviving memories of my days playing golf for purposes other than sport for these cartoons…

    One Wednesday afternoon playing with a threesome of doctors and dentists, I had made a reasonable profit. So had two of the other three. The next-to-last hole was a short par three, the entire carry over a pond. The day’s big loser was hitting last, after the rest of us had each put a ball safely on the green. He topped his shot into the pond, and threw the club in after it. Got another club and ball from his bag on the electric cart, topped that one into the pond, followed by the club. Repeated a third time. Then snatched the entire bag off the cart, whirled with it like an Olympic hammer thrower, and sent it all into the pond. Impressive distance.Report

    • Fish in reply to Michael Cain says:

      I feel for this guy.

      I was once so frustrated at a tournament in high school that I started hitting shots without bothering to take my bag off my shoulder.Report

  2. John Puccio says:

    Aside from being completely devoid of anything that resembles humor, the thing that strikes me about these Briggs cartoons are the sheer number of them having golf as the subject matter. I mean, what percentage of the American population actually played (or even had access to) golf in the early 20th century?Report

    • trumwill in reply to John Puccio says:

      Golf was definitely one of his central subjects, at least in the New York years. I think it was a combination of his personal affinity towards it and that its popularity was particularly high during the Roaring Twenties. Most of the ones I have run so far are from that decade. As I wrap these up and move on to the Chicago years, there will be somewhat less golf and a ton more baseball.Report

    • There were a staggering number of little municipal courses and “country clubs” built across the Midwest by early in the century. About 30 miles from the little town in NW Iowa where I learned to play is the “Sioux Golf and Country Club”, established and continuously operated from 1888. Three of the first eight PGA championships were played in Indiana and Illinois. By 1910, Denver had a number of country clubs competing with each other to attract the local elite as members.Report