Donahey sends an original signed sketch to James Bowman, a teacher who collects autographed items for his class. Donahey writes that he was just off on vacation when Bowman's letter arrived "And later, when I return [I] will try and get to your original cartoon on a subject that might be of interest to your youthful audience". He adds a postscript enclosing the sketch. The drawing depicts a bearded country fellow with a spade or hoe being watched by a small dog and a bird perched on a fence.
James Harrison Donahey [1875-1949] worked for the Ohio Democrat in New Philadelphia before moving to Cleveland to study at the Cleveland School of Art. He was editorial cartoonist of the Cleveland Plain Dealer from 1900 to 1949. His most famous cartoon, published on the death of Mark Twain in 1920, depicted two somber boys rafting a flower-draped bier "Down the River". Good .
Keywords: ILLUSTRATED; CARTOONISTS; AMERICAN CARTOONISTS; AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER CARTOONIST JAMES H. DONAHEY, ENCLOSING AN ORIGINAL SIGNED SKETCH; ALS; A.L.S.; SIGNATURE.