T. S. Sullivant is one of the most important cartoonists in the history of the medium. He pioneered many of the elements of anthropomorphism that we now take for granted. The general public may not be familiar with his name, but animators sure appreciate his work. (See Eddie Fitzgerald’s first article on Sullivant and his second. Also see, Andreas Deja’s blog… T.S. Sullivant Part One and Part Two) The influence of Sullivant’s animals (along with the work of Heinrich Kley…) can be seen in many of the Disney features.
Sullivant was born in 1854, and didn’t begin cartooning professionally until the age of 32. His cartoons appeared in Life and Puck during the 1890s, and in Judge around the turn of the century. William Randolph Hearst signed him to an exclusive contract in 1904, and his mastheads populated by cartoony animals appeared on the top of the Hearst comics pages until 1907. Sullivant returned to Life magazine in 1911, and remained there until his death in 1926.
Sullivant’s pen and ink style doesn’t really suit itself for reproduction on a computer screen, but I have made large versions available of all of these images. Just click on the picture to see it larger.