Polly and Her Pals Daily 1934

Cliff Sterrett is one of the great innovators of the comic page, and the creator of the long-running comic strip 'Polly and her Pals'. Born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Sterrett settled in New York at the age of 18 and attended courses at the Chase Arts School. Between 1904 and 1908, he worked for the New York Herald, drawing actuality illustrations and caricatures. From 1908, he was present in the New York Times, and later on in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. He started drawing comics when he got the opportunity to draw four daily comic strips for the New York Evening Telegram in 1911. His earliest strip was called 'Ventriloquial Vag', which was soon followed by three others: 'When a Man's Married', 'Before And After' and 'For This We Have Daughters'. In 1912, Sterrett was hired by publisher William R. Hearst, for whom he created his famous strip about the flapper girl 'Positive Polly', that was later renamed 'Polly and Her Pals.' The strip was initially published in the daily comics section of the New York Journal. A year later, it also became a Sunday page and a four-color supplement to the New York American. In addition, Sterrett created 'Sweethearts and Wives' (renamed to 'Belles and Wedding Bells'), 'And So They Were Never Married' and 'Damon and Pythias' (renamed to 'Dot and Dash') as toppers to the Sunday pages. Text (c) Lambiek