« I’m going to Boston to see my doctor. He’s a very sick man. » — Fred Allen
My turn to spotlight a recent find: last month, during a fruitful visit to Ellsworth, ME’s The Big Chicken Barn, I spotted — among others — an item of interest in the humour section: a hardcover volume entitled Dahl’s Brave New World, published 1947. Spare but effective cartooning, plenty of imagination and wit. See what you make of it.
I love knowing that there’s a world of talented folk I’d never gotten wind of. Even if a lifetime is too short, even if I’ll miss out on some great art, both capital A and lower-case, I prefer to hold the optimistic view and raise the half-full glass in a heartfelt toast.
By way of biography, Mr. Dahl (1907-1973) thankfully rated an obit in the New York Times on May 7, 1973. Allow me to quote liberally from it:
« Francis W. Dahl, Boston’s best‐known cartoonist, whose works have appeared in newspapers here for 45 years as well as in a series of books, died today at his home in Newton. He was 65 years old.
Mr. Dahl’s cartoons focused on Bostonians and their politics, customs, costumes and foibles, with most of his subjects growing out of local news items.
From 1928, when he began his newspaper career as an $20‐a‐week illustrator, until last June, Mr. Dahl drew his cartoons for The Boston Herald and its successor, The Herald Traveler. When the paper was purchased by The Record‐American last June, he joined The Boston Globe.
Collections of the cartoons also appeared in a number of books, including “Left Handed Compliments,” “Dahl’s Cartoons,” “What, More Dahl?” “Birds, Beasts and Bostonians,” “Dahl’s Boston” and “Dahl’s Brave New World.”
Stories about Mr. Dahl have become part of Boston’s journalistic legends. Once, for example, a Herald engravers’ plate broke just before deadline and 144,000 copies were printed without his cartoon. A printed box asked readers if he was missed, and 4,000 letters were sent to the editor saying yes.
On another occasion, Mr. Dahl broke his right arm — his drawing arm — but rather than miss a day the paper had him draw left‐handed for six weeks. »
While the NYT piece itself draws heavily from a 1946 Time Magazine profile of Dahl, it left out the juiciest part of the anecdote: « Since draftsmanship is the least of Dahl’s assets, the switchover didn’t show much. »
And here’s some insight into Dahl’s relative obscurity: « Because he concocts his cartoons out of local news items, and refuses to change his ways, mild-mannered Francis Dahl has never been syndicated. But for his collections of reprints, he would be unknown outside New England. » [ source ]
-RG
Who's Out There? 
Had to look it up: yes, the Hoppi-Copter really was an invention of the 1940s.
Fun cartoons from a guy I was somehow only dimly aware of. “Draftsmanship wasn’t one of his greatest assets” – ouch! Still, full of charm.
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Hi Steve! You wrote: “Had to look it up: yes, the Hoppi-Copter really was an invention of the 1940s.”
I’m a sucker for comics that use the news as a springboard, and Dahl’s work is a prime example.
And yeah, that Time Magazine quip is quite the back-handed compliment!
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Thank you so much for posting this and including so much information, especially the art work. I was fortunate enough to find a softly warped copy of “What! More Dahl?” and immediately fascinated by the simple line work and whimsical content.
When it’s not obvious that Boston is being depicted, it’s strongly themed with all things Bostonian -or at least rich with the local area. It’s just delightful stuff to see turned out with such constant quality and strong tone. It’s quite inspiring.
Keep up the good work. I thought this post was just excellent and informative. The time you took here is greatly appreciated.
TsH
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Thanks so much for your kind words, TS! When I stumbled upon Dahl’s work — just last year! — I knew he was well worthy of a post, but had no idea it would resonate so deeply and widely. That’s assuredly among the most rewarding aspects of blogging. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more of his work, though it’s nice to know that I won’t be alone in doing so. 😉 Cheers!
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Thanks for the post! My father had the complete collection of Dahl and I read and re-read them religiously as a kid. I often didn’t “get” the humor but I found the illustrations and his overall tone appealing. I still do, and his regional observations are a hoot. Best, Alex
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Glad it struck your fancy, Alex. Lucky man, you had a dad with an appreciation for cartoons! My reaction to Dahl is rather similar to yours: I may not always get the locale-specific humour, but the visual and tonal charm weaves a powerful spell. I’ve picked up another Dahl collection since, so there may be a sequel in our future. As it is, the popularity of this post most pleasantly caught me by surprise. Cheers!
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