Starke (Prion Cartoon Classic)

Leslie Starke (1905-74) was one of the most inventive and best-loved cartoonists of his day. His jokes, usually without captions, show he was very much an innovator in what would now be called "off-the-wall" comedy. "Punch" historian R.G.G. Price said that with Anton and J.W. Taylor he represented "the first generation of crazy humorists at their best". And his "Punch" obituary added that "no analysis of cartoon humour can pin down his particular quality but it was individual enough to be called "Starkeian"". A Scot, his work was as popular in the USA as it was in Britain and his cartoons regularly appeared in such publications as the "New Yorker", "Collier's", "The Saturday Evening Post" and "Esquire". Here are nearly 200 of the best of Starke's inimitable drawings.