Cartoon Articles Archive

This cartoon originally appeared in the February 1944 edition of Canadian Countryman. It depicts a sick patient representing a “War-Ravaged World” being presented by his doctor a dose of “Freer Trade” with the caption “When he gets over the fever, this is the tonic to put him on his feet again.” Appearing as it did in the winter of 1944, the cartoon was clearly depicting free trade as a sure means to economic recovery following the end of the war that was...

This cartoon first appeared in the January 1945 edition of Canadian Countryman. It depicts Old Man Ontario, the traditional representation of the province, weathering the snows and storms of his age-old nemesis, Old Man Winter. “Cheer up, it won’t be long now!” encourages the captioner with perhaps more than a hint of sarcasm. The cartoon was responding to the exceptionally snowy weather that buffeted Ontario in December, 1944. The snow was especially treacherous in...

This cartoon originally appeared in the December 1945 issue of the Canadian Countryman. It depicts Santa Claus delivering to an injured and ailing planet the gifts of “international goodwill and understanding” accompanied by the caption “it’s what the patient needs.” The cartoon represents the combined senses of war-weariness and optimism that followed the end of the Second World War on September 2nd of that year. For the first time in six years, citizens of the...

This advertisement appeared in a 1945 issue of the Canadian Countryman. Sponsored by the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC) - the forerunner to Ontario Hydro and eventually Hydro One - the purpose of this advertising campaign was to encourage farmers to entrust the job of wiring their farm to a skilled professional, and not the “Smith boy … because he’s so handy.” While humorous and helpful, this advertisement is also indicative of the trend of...

This cartoon, featured in the May 1955 issue of Better Farming magazine, parodies modern weather forecasts as unpredictable and unreliable by depicting them being chosen at random like a lottery. While the daily weather forecast has often been the butt of jokes from its introduction in the 1860s, the Spring of 1955 was an especially turbulent time for weather in continental North America. An unusually warm month of March was capped off by a phenomenally cold final week that saw large...