Lot 1063: DIRKS, RUDOLPH. 1877-1968.

Pen and ink drawing on stiff paper, 15 3/8 x 22 3/4 inches, signed ("R. Dirks"), February 13, 1938, being an original 9-panel Sunday "Captain and the Kids" strip, glue residue from absent title, a few editor's notations, light toning, but very good. WITH: Pen and ink drawing on stiff paper, 16 3/4 x 23 7/8 inches, signed ("J. Dirks"), February 18, 1937, being an original 8-panel Sunday "Captain and the Kids" strip, title label toned, stains to verso, clean and attractive.

Rudolph Dirks was one of the great early comic strip artists. His Kaztenjammer Kids, which first appeared in William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal in 1897, was among the most popular of its day. Dirks was eventually forced to relinquish the Katzenjammer Kids and he begin a new strip, Hans and Fritz for Hearst's competitor Joseph Pulitzer. The strip was re-titled The Captain and the Kids during World War I due to anti-German sentiment. Dirks's son John took over the strip in 1958.