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The Teenie Weenies

January 01, 1970

The Teenie Weenies is a comic strip created and illustrated by William Donahey that first appeared in 1914 in the Chicago Tribune and ran for over 50 years.[1][2][3] It consisted of normal-size objects intermingled with tiny protagonists.[1] The comic strip characters were two inches tall[1][2] and lived under a rose bush.[3] They lived with "real world" size materials made from discarded objects like hats, jars, barrels, kegs, and boxes – all of which were gigantic to them.[3]

The Teenie Weenies
The Teenie Weenies drawn by William Donahey 1916
Author(s)William Donahey
Current status/scheduleConcluded
Launch date(1st run) June 14, 1914
(2nd run) September 24, 1933
(3rd run) May 18, 1941
End date(1st run) October 26, 1924
(2nd run) December 2, 1934
(3rd run) February 15, 1970
Publisher(s)Chicago Tribune Syndicate

History edit

 
The Teenie Weenies in the Wildwood by William Donahey, 1923

The strip was inspired by Palmer Cox's The Brownies and was done in the form of text with a single large picture.[3] Unlike the Brownies where the text was written in verse, Donahey wrote in prose.[3] The Teenie Weenies first appeared in black and white in the women's section of the Chicago Tribune on June 14, 1914.[3] This first story was of the Top Hat house burning down.[4] The comic strip ran as a one panel story with a picture until 1923.[3] It then moved to the comics page as a strip cartoon.[4] Color versions soon appeared in the magazine section of the newspaper printed in rotogravure.[3][4]

Donahey drew the comic strip until October 26, 1924, when it was temporarily discontinued. While the newspaper feature was stopped, Donahey's comic characters were used in advertising for Reid, Murdock & Company.[3][4] Donahey did advertising for them in The Saturday Evening Post and on their Monarch canned foods line.[4]

Several books of the strip comic characters were also published by Beckley-Cardey Company and Reilly & Lee. In an effort to stimulate new interest in the Teenie Weenies, Reid, Murdock & Company in 1927 issued an eight-page pamphlet called The Teenie Weenies: Their Book.[3] On September 24, 1933, the daily comic strip was added again to the Chicago Tribune newspaper. It ran for about a year until it was suspended again on December 2, 1934.[3][4]

In 1940 and 1941 four of The Teenie Weenies books were reprinted.[3] On May 18, 1941, the Sunday comic strip feature came back permanently.[4] It continued until Donahey's death.[3][4] During this third time that it was published, two sets of reprints came out. Whittlesy House published three books between 1942 and 1945. Ziff-Davis published two standard-size comic books in 1950 and 1951.[3] Donahey retired in 1969. The last newspaper comic strip episode appeared February 15, 1970.[3] Donahey died February 2 of the same year and never saw the last episode published.[4]

Characters edit

Donahey's comic strip characters tended to be named after their most prominent characteristics, examples being the Sailor, the Chinese man, the Cook, the Policeman, the Lady of Fashion, the Dunce, the Old Soldier with a Wooden Leg, etc. Each character had a personality accordingly which was not just based on their clothing.[3] According to John D. Taylor, a founding member of the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society, there were 45 members of the Teenie Weenie village. Below is Taylor's list of the Teenie Weenies.[5]

 
 
 

1. Aunt Tess: 6/18/1961 - 1970. White-haired workaholic and domineering old bat. Not to be confused with Tess (Bone / Guff / Turk).

--. the babies' mother: see "Tess (Bone / Guff / Turk)".

2. Bell, Baby Bell: 8/1/15. One shot appearance as the subject of a poem: "Cry cry cry, Baby Bell. Went to sleep in a peanut shell."

3. Buddy Guff: veteran of the Great War. Married Tess Bone, father of Dot. 1918(?)-1924.

4. the Carpenter: 1914-1915(?)

5. the Chinese man: 1915(?)-1970. Oriental laundryman. Also called Chuck Lee. And once called Henry.

--. Chuck Lee: see "the Chinese Man".

6. the Clown: 1914–1924. (In one strip he is referred to as "Nipper".)

7. the Cook: 1914–1970.

8. the Cowboy: 1914–1970.

--. Danny Dunce: see "the Dunce."

9. the Doctor: 1914–1970.

10. the dog: 1914-1917(?).

11. Dorothy (Dot) Guff: born 3/11/1923. Not seen after 1924.

12. the Dunce: 1914–1970. (Note: in one strip he is called "Danny Dunce")

13. the Dutchman: 1914-1918(?).

--. the Fire Department: 1914. Like the Army, an unnamed band later replaced by individual Teenie Weenies.

14. the General: 1914–1970. Leader of the little village.

--. the Giant: see "Paddy Pinn."

15. Gogo: 1916(?)-1924, 1941–1970. The Teenie Weenie "colored man."

16, 17. the Guff sisters: 1918(?)-1921(?). Two unnamed (to the best of my knowledge) young women.

--. Guffs: see "Buddy Guff," "Guff sisters", "Miss Guff", "Sally Guff.", and "Tess (Bone / Guff / Turk)".

18. Grandma(s): 10/25/1914. In the strip Donahey refers to "one of the Teenie Weenie grandmas." They are never otherwise referenced.

19. Grandpa(s). 1914–1924. In the earliest strips there are at least two Grandpas, but later only one. Teenie Weenie Town (1942) mentions "a Teenie Weenie grandpa", but there is no picture, and he does not have an important role.

--. Henry: there is no Teenie Weenie named "Henry". The editor of Harvey Magazine # 7 renamed the Chinese man "Henry".

20. the Indian: 1914–1924, 1941–1970.

21. the Jap: 1914. Only appeared in five strips.

22. Jerry Lover: 4/2/1916-1924. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Lover, twin of Tom Lover.

23. Judy Turk: 7/31/1966-1970. Daughter of the Turk and Mrs. Turk, the last Teenie Weenie.

24. the Lady of Fashion: 1914–1970. At first vain and interested only in clothes, she became the village school-mistress, nurse, etiquette supervisor, and housekeeper.

--. the Lover. see "Mr. Lover."

25. Miss Guff: 1918(?)-1921(?). Oldest of the four Guff sisters, a prim and proper spinster.

26. Miss Jackson: 3/25/1923-1924. "Colored" nursemaid, full name Capatola Victrola Pinchneck Jackson.

27: the Minister: 6/20/1915. Seen only at the wedding of the Lover and the Sweetheart (Mr. and Mrs. Lover).

28. Mooie: 1917, 1923, and Wildwood. Queen of the Saboes.

29. Mr. Lover: 1914–1924. Originally the Lover until his wedding in 1915.

--. Mr. Turk: see "the Turk."

30. Mrs. Lover: 1914–1924. Originally the Sweetheart until her wedding in 1915.

--. Mrs. Turk: see "Tess (Bone, Guff, Turk)"

31. Nipper: 1941(?)-1970. Not named at first, later determined to be the son of Tess and the Turk. Brother of Zero and Judy. (Nipper is also the given name of the Clown (q.v.) and the name of a pinching bug of the 1940s that predated naming the boys.)

32. the Old Soldier with a Wooden Leg: 1914–1970. Civil War veteran.

33. Paddy Pinn: 1917(?)-1923. At 4 inches tall, the Teenie Weenie Giant.

34. the Poet: 1917(?)-1924. Also known as Rufus Rhyme.

35. the Policeman: 1914–1970.

--. the Professor(?): 1914. Wearing a mortarboard and spectacles, never named but quite prominent in the earliest strips..

--. Rufus Rhyme: see "the Poet."

--. the Saboes: 1917, 1923. A savage tribe of "Wild Men" living near the Teenie Weenies (in Michigan?)

36. the Sailor: 1914–1970.

--. the Sailor's wife: see "Sally Guff"

37. Sally Guff: 1918(?)-1924(?). Married the Sailor in an advertisement in 1926. Referred to as "The Sailor's Wife" on a deck of trading cards in 1928.

??. Santa: 12/23/1945. The Christmas symbol, as a Teenie Weenie, was actually the cut-out, which means he was a Teenie Weenie, even if he's not, really. Jack Frost, the Easter Bunny and Father Time also made appearances in dreams or tales told by the elders, but cannot really be counted.

38. the Scotchman: 10/25/1914-1924.

39. Snip: 1934. Baby. (Snip is also the name of the baby in Donahey's other comic strip, The Pixeys.)

--. the Soldier. The 1/1/1945 cut-out (who doesn't appear in the story) is "Teenie Weenie Soldier", carrying a gun and wearing a uniform similar to the General's. In the 5/19/46 strip the Dunce and Gogo are on guard wearing the same uniforms, and the Dunce in uniform is the cut-out. There is no Teenie Weenie Soldier (except for the Old Soldier with a Wooden Leg) per se after 1914, see "the Army."

--. the Sweetheart. See "Mrs. Lover."

40. Tess (Bone, Guff, Turk): 1916(?)-1970. Married Buddy Guff in 1918, one daughter, Dorothy. Not named in the 1933 incarnation, but there is an unnamed matron, the mother of Snip. Reappeared in 1941, unnamed for quite a while, eventually identified as Tess and as "the babies' mother" (Nipper and Zero), even later identified as the wife of the Turk. Called "Mrs. Turk" exclusively after the advent of Aunt Tess. Daughter Judy born 7/31/1966.

41. Tom Lover: 04/02/1916-1924. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Lover, twin of Jerry Lover.

42. Tommy Atkins: 1914. Only seen in four of the first five strips. Dressed as a bellhop.

43. the Turk: 1914–1970.

--. the Wild Man: see "Zip".

--. the Witch: 1923, 1924. Not a true Teenie Weenie, rather an illustration of a Halloween song in Teenie Weenie Land, and a top-of-page illustration (riding a bat) in the 10/26/24 strip.

44. Zero: 1942(?)-1970. Teenie Weenie baby. Not named at first, later determined to be the son of Tess and the Turk. Brother of Nipper and Judy.

45. Zip: 1917(?)-1924. The Teenie Weenie "Wild Man", a converted Sabo.

Bibliography edit

  • The Teenie Weenies (Reilly & Britton, 1916).
  • Teenie Weenie Days (Whittlesey House, 1944).
  • Teenie Weenie Town (Whittlesey House, 1942).
  • Alice and the Teenie Weenies (Reilly & Lee, 1927).
  • Teenie Weenie Neighbors (Whittlesey House, 1945).
  • Adventures of the Teenie Weenies (Reilly & Lee, 1920).
  • The Teenie Weenies in the Wildwood (Reilly & Lee, 1923).
  • Down the River with the Teenie Weenies (Reilly & Lee, 1921).
  • The Teenie Weenies under the Rosebush (Reilly & Lee, 1922).
  • The Teenie Weenies with Effie E. Baker (Beckley-Cardy Company, 1917).
  • Teenie Weenie Land with Effie E. Baker (Beckley-Cardy Company, 1923).

"The Teenie Weenies: Their Book" 8 pages [Reid-Murdock & Company, 1927] "The Teenie weenies: Their Book" 20 pages [Reid Murdock & Company, 1926]

Further reading edit

  • Teenie Weenie Music for Piano, J.Fischer & Brother (1921)
  • Down The River With The Teenie Weenies [Jr Ed], Rand-McNally (1940)
  • Adventures of the Teenie Weenies [Jr Ed], Rand-McNally (1941)
  • Teenie Weenies Under the Rosebush [Jr Ed], Rand-McNally (1941)
  • Teenie Weenies [comic #10], Ziff-Davis (1950)
  • Teenie Weenies [comic #11], Ziff-Davis (1951)
  • Dance of the Teenie Weenies [by Alma Sanders], Halse & Bostick (1916)

"Teenie Weenies In The Wildwood" [Jr Ed], Rand-McNally [1940] "Nemo" magazine #6 [Apr/May 1951] 2 articles "Past Times" magazine Vol. 12, # 5 [2004] 1 articles

See also edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ a b c "William Donahey's Teenie Weenies". Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  2. ^ a b "The Teenie Weenies". Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Don Markstein's Toonopedia". Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i . Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  5. ^ "Meet the Teenie Weenies". Retrieved 2008-05-17.

Sources edit

  • Cahn, Joseph M., The Teenie Weenies Book: the Life and Art of William Donahey (Green Tiger Press, 1986). ISBN 0-88138-035-0

External links edit

  • Works by or about William Donahey at Internet Archive
  • Works by William Donahey at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)  
  • The Teenie Weenies fan website
  • Restoration of the Pickle Barrel House

January 01, 1970
teenie, weenies, comic, strip, created, illustrated, william, donahey, that, first, appeared, 1914, chicago, tribune, over, years, consisted, normal, size, objects, intermingled, with, tiny, protagonists, comic, strip, characters, were, inches, tall, lived, un. The Teenie Weenies is a comic strip created and illustrated by William Donahey that first appeared in 1914 in the Chicago Tribune and ran for over 50 years 1 2 3 It consisted of normal size objects intermingled with tiny protagonists 1 The comic strip characters were two inches tall 1 2 and lived under a rose bush 3 They lived with real world size materials made from discarded objects like hats jars barrels kegs and boxes all of which were gigantic to them 3 The Teenie WeeniesThe Teenie Weenies drawn by William Donahey 1916Author s William DonaheyCurrent status scheduleConcludedLaunch date 1st run June 14 1914 2nd run September 24 1933 3rd run May 18 1941End date 1st run October 26 1924 2nd run December 2 1934 3rd run February 15 1970Publisher s Chicago Tribune Syndicate Contents 1 History 2 Characters 3 Bibliography 4 Further reading 5 See also 6 Footnotes 7 Sources 8 External linksHistory edit nbsp The Teenie Weenies in the Wildwood by William Donahey 1923 The strip was inspired by Palmer Cox s The Brownies and was done in the form of text with a single large picture 3 Unlike the Brownies where the text was written in verse Donahey wrote in prose 3 The Teenie Weenies first appeared in black and white in the women s section of the Chicago Tribune on June 14 1914 3 This first story was of the Top Hat house burning down 4 The comic strip ran as a one panel story with a picture until 1923 3 It then moved to the comics page as a strip cartoon 4 Color versions soon appeared in the magazine section of the newspaper printed in rotogravure 3 4 Donahey drew the comic strip until October 26 1924 when it was temporarily discontinued While the newspaper feature was stopped Donahey s comic characters were used in advertising for Reid Murdock amp Company 3 4 Donahey did advertising for them in The Saturday Evening Post and on their Monarch canned foods line 4 Several books of the strip comic characters were also published by Beckley Cardey Company and Reilly amp Lee In an effort to stimulate new interest in the Teenie Weenies Reid Murdock amp Company in 1927 issued an eight page pamphlet called The Teenie Weenies Their Book 3 On September 24 1933 the daily comic strip was added again to the Chicago Tribune newspaper It ran for about a year until it was suspended again on December 2 1934 3 4 In 1940 and 1941 four of The Teenie Weenies books were reprinted 3 On May 18 1941 the Sunday comic strip feature came back permanently 4 It continued until Donahey s death 3 4 During this third time that it was published two sets of reprints came out Whittlesy House published three books between 1942 and 1945 Ziff Davis published two standard size comic books in 1950 and 1951 3 Donahey retired in 1969 The last newspaper comic strip episode appeared February 15 1970 3 Donahey died February 2 of the same year and never saw the last episode published 4 Characters editDonahey s comic strip characters tended to be named after their most prominent characteristics examples being the Sailor the Chinese man the Cook the Policeman the Lady of Fashion the Dunce the Old Soldier with a Wooden Leg etc Each character had a personality accordingly which was not just based on their clothing 3 According to John D Taylor a founding member of the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society there were 45 members of the Teenie Weenie village Below is Taylor s list of the Teenie Weenies 5 nbsp nbsp nbsp 1 Aunt Tess 6 18 1961 1970 White haired workaholic and domineering old bat Not to be confused with Tess Bone Guff Turk the babies mother see Tess Bone Guff Turk 2 Bell Baby Bell 8 1 15 One shot appearance as the subject of a poem Cry cry cry Baby Bell Went to sleep in a peanut shell 3 Buddy Guff veteran of the Great War Married Tess Bone father of Dot 1918 1924 4 the Carpenter 1914 1915 5 the Chinese man 1915 1970 Oriental laundryman Also called Chuck Lee And once called Henry Chuck Lee see the Chinese Man 6 the Clown 1914 1924 In one strip he is referred to as Nipper 7 the Cook 1914 1970 8 the Cowboy 1914 1970 Danny Dunce see the Dunce 9 the Doctor 1914 1970 10 the dog 1914 1917 11 Dorothy Dot Guff born 3 11 1923 Not seen after 1924 12 the Dunce 1914 1970 Note in one strip he is called Danny Dunce 13 the Dutchman 1914 1918 the Fire Department 1914 Like the Army an unnamed band later replaced by individual Teenie Weenies 14 the General 1914 1970 Leader of the little village the Giant see Paddy Pinn 15 Gogo 1916 1924 1941 1970 The Teenie Weenie colored man 16 17 the Guff sisters 1918 1921 Two unnamed to the best of my knowledge young women Guffs see Buddy Guff Guff sisters Miss Guff Sally Guff and Tess Bone Guff Turk 18 Grandma s 10 25 1914 In the strip Donahey refers to one of the Teenie Weenie grandmas They are never otherwise referenced 19 Grandpa s 1914 1924 In the earliest strips there are at least two Grandpas but later only one Teenie Weenie Town 1942 mentions a Teenie Weenie grandpa but there is no picture and he does not have an important role Henry there is no Teenie Weenie named Henry The editor of Harvey Magazine 7 renamed the Chinese man Henry 20 the Indian 1914 1924 1941 1970 21 the Jap 1914 Only appeared in five strips 22 Jerry Lover 4 2 1916 1924 Son of Mr and Mrs Lover twin of Tom Lover 23 Judy Turk 7 31 1966 1970 Daughter of the Turk and Mrs Turk the last Teenie Weenie 24 the Lady of Fashion 1914 1970 At first vain and interested only in clothes she became the village school mistress nurse etiquette supervisor and housekeeper the Lover see Mr Lover 25 Miss Guff 1918 1921 Oldest of the four Guff sisters a prim and proper spinster 26 Miss Jackson 3 25 1923 1924 Colored nursemaid full name Capatola Victrola Pinchneck Jackson 27 the Minister 6 20 1915 Seen only at the wedding of the Lover and the Sweetheart Mr and Mrs Lover 28 Mooie 1917 1923 and Wildwood Queen of the Saboes 29 Mr Lover 1914 1924 Originally the Lover until his wedding in 1915 Mr Turk see the Turk 30 Mrs Lover 1914 1924 Originally the Sweetheart until her wedding in 1915 Mrs Turk see Tess Bone Guff Turk 31 Nipper 1941 1970 Not named at first later determined to be the son of Tess and the Turk Brother of Zero and Judy Nipper is also the given name of the Clown q v and the name of a pinching bug of the 1940s that predated naming the boys 32 the Old Soldier with a Wooden Leg 1914 1970 Civil War veteran 33 Paddy Pinn 1917 1923 At 4 inches tall the Teenie Weenie Giant 34 the Poet 1917 1924 Also known as Rufus Rhyme 35 the Policeman 1914 1970 the Professor 1914 Wearing a mortarboard and spectacles never named but quite prominent in the earliest strips Rufus Rhyme see the Poet the Saboes 1917 1923 A savage tribe of Wild Men living near the Teenie Weenies in Michigan 36 the Sailor 1914 1970 the Sailor s wife see Sally Guff 37 Sally Guff 1918 1924 Married the Sailor in an advertisement in 1926 Referred to as The Sailor s Wife on a deck of trading cards in 1928 Santa 12 23 1945 The Christmas symbol as a Teenie Weenie was actually the cut out which means he was a Teenie Weenie even if he s not really Jack Frost the Easter Bunny and Father Time also made appearances in dreams or tales told by the elders but cannot really be counted 38 the Scotchman 10 25 1914 1924 39 Snip 1934 Baby Snip is also the name of the baby in Donahey s other comic strip The Pixeys the Soldier The 1 1 1945 cut out who doesn t appear in the story is Teenie Weenie Soldier carrying a gun and wearing a uniform similar to the General s In the 5 19 46 strip the Dunce and Gogo are on guard wearing the same uniforms and the Dunce in uniform is the cut out There is no Teenie Weenie Soldier except for the Old Soldier with a Wooden Leg per se after 1914 see the Army the Sweetheart See Mrs Lover 40 Tess Bone Guff Turk 1916 1970 Married Buddy Guff in 1918 one daughter Dorothy Not named in the 1933 incarnation but there is an unnamed matron the mother of Snip Reappeared in 1941 unnamed for quite a while eventually identified as Tess and as the babies mother Nipper and Zero even later identified as the wife of the Turk Called Mrs Turk exclusively after the advent of Aunt Tess Daughter Judy born 7 31 1966 41 Tom Lover 04 02 1916 1924 Son of Mr and Mrs Lover twin of Jerry Lover 42 Tommy Atkins 1914 Only seen in four of the first five strips Dressed as a bellhop 43 the Turk 1914 1970 the Wild Man see Zip the Witch 1923 1924 Not a true Teenie Weenie rather an illustration of a Halloween song in Teenie Weenie Land and a top of page illustration riding a bat in the 10 26 24 strip 44 Zero 1942 1970 Teenie Weenie baby Not named at first later determined to be the son of Tess and the Turk Brother of Nipper and Judy 45 Zip 1917 1924 The Teenie Weenie Wild Man a converted Sabo Bibliography editThe Teenie Weenies Reilly amp Britton 1916 Teenie Weenie Days Whittlesey House 1944 Teenie Weenie Town Whittlesey House 1942 Alice and the Teenie Weenies Reilly amp Lee 1927 Teenie Weenie Neighbors Whittlesey House 1945 Adventures of the Teenie Weenies Reilly amp Lee 1920 The Teenie Weenies in the Wildwood Reilly amp Lee 1923 Down the River with the Teenie Weenies Reilly amp Lee 1921 The Teenie Weenies under the Rosebush Reilly amp Lee 1922 The Teenie Weenies with Effie E Baker Beckley Cardy Company 1917 Teenie Weenie Land with Effie E Baker Beckley Cardy Company 1923 The Teenie Weenies Their Book 8 pages Reid Murdock amp Company 1927 The Teenie weenies Their Book 20 pages Reid Murdock amp Company 1926 Further reading editTeenie Weenie Music for Piano J Fischer amp Brother 1921 Down The River With The Teenie Weenies Jr Ed Rand McNally 1940 Adventures of the Teenie Weenies Jr Ed Rand McNally 1941 Teenie Weenies Under the Rosebush Jr Ed Rand McNally 1941 Teenie Weenies comic 10 Ziff Davis 1950 Teenie Weenies comic 11 Ziff Davis 1951 Dance of the Teenie Weenies by Alma Sanders Halse amp Bostick 1916 Teenie Weenies In The Wildwood Jr Ed Rand McNally 1940 Nemo magazine 6 Apr May 1951 2 articles Past Times magazine Vol 12 5 2004 1 articlesSee also editThe Borrowers 1952 novel for childrenFootnotes edit a b c William Donahey s Teenie Weenies Retrieved 2008 05 17 a b The Teenie Weenies Retrieved 2008 05 17 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Don Markstein s Toonopedia Retrieved 2008 05 17 a b c d e f g h i The history of the Teenie Weenies Archived from the original on 2016 03 28 Retrieved 2008 05 17 Meet the Teenie Weenies Retrieved 2008 05 17 Sources editCahn Joseph M The Teenie Weenies Book the Life and Art of William Donahey Green Tiger Press 1986 ISBN 0 88138 035 0External links editWorks by or about William Donahey at Internet Archive Works by William Donahey at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp The Teenie Weenies fan website Restoration of the Pickle Barrel House Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Teenie Weenies amp oldid 1194142740, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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