Scrapbook of Harold B West Drawings
Datec 1920s - 1980s
Credit LineGift of Mr. Harold B. West, 1992.
Object number1992.001.012
Label TextBorn in Delaware, Ontario, in 1904, Harold West, a mostly self-taught cartoonist and illustrator, was the creator of Canada’s first syndicated comic strip, “Charlie Chump.” He led a forty-year career as a commercial artist and illustrator working first for the London Advertiser and then in the art departments of Wesley Engravers and Artcraft Engravers, also in London, Ontario. In 1930, he was invited to join the Walt Disney Company, but he declined, choosing instead to stay close to his family and at Wesley. His skills enabled him to work in varied commercial art disciplines from comic art to advertising graphics and for many different clients including The Farmer’s Advocate and John Labatt Limited. Long after he retired, West continued to draw, creating gently nostalgic images for the
Elbeetee newsletter, a publication dedicated to former Lone Scouts, an organisation of which he had been a member.
NameScrapbook
