Dr. Syntax and the Birth of the Cartoon Star

The Comic Hit of 1809 Sparked the Marketing of Tie-in Merchandise

Nov 7, 2009

This may surprise you, but the first cartoon hero was born a century before Mickey Mouse, Felix the Cat, and Buster Brown.

In fact, the first genuine cartoon "star" entered the world the same year as Abraham Lincoln, and his father was a subject of King George the Third. Who was this sensational forerunner of Blondie, Popeye, and Snoopy?

He was the creation of Thomas Rowlandson, one of the greatest political and social caricaturists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In an age with little censorship, Rowlandson's many comic illustrations commented on politicians and even royalty.

Relating the (Mis)adventures of Dr. Syntax

Rowlandson put the crotchety doctor in funny situations, then turned his sketches over to writer William Combe, who told the story in the form of verse -- specifically, rhymed couplets in iambic tetrameter. Rowlandson finished the process by hand-coloring his final etchings on aquatint. This method of fitting the text to the images is still used today in such works as DC Comics' Ambush Bug by Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming.

In the story which Rudolph Ackermann's Poetical Magazine serialized in 1809, Dr. Syntax -- one of many low-level, church-affiliated schoolmasters -- has grown tired of teaching the grammatical construal of Latin (known as "syntax") for a pittance while rich booksellers live in urban mansions and country estates. So the reverend doctor tells his wife that he intends to make a tour during the summer holidays and -- with his "store of modern [and] classic lore," his "weight of learning [and] critical discerning" -- to write and illustrate a book about his travels to quaint and curious places. Such a tome, penned in a "flippant, flashy, flow'ry style" with "every other leaf a print of some fine view in aqua tint" would "fill [his] purse and give [him] fame." Wearing a rusty black suit upon his scrawny frame, our hero mounts his old mare, Grizzle, and sets off.

Rowlandson's Inspiration

Dr. Syntax was a satire on the Reverend William Gilpin, author of the memorably titled Observations on the River Wye and several parts of South Wales, etc. relative chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the summer of the year 1770, a popular series of tour journals that emphasized landscape illustrations and flattering prose. Gilpin's concept of the picturesque ("that kind of beauty which is agreeable in a picture") was skewered by Jane Austen in her 1800 novel Northanger Abbey. Combe lampooned the same when he had Syntax soliloquize that he would paint the cottage, the coppice, and the elm-trees but omit the pigs.

The Doctor Connects with the Public

Like a Don Quixote without the dementia, the eccentric curate suffers through various ridiculous (and amusing) ordeals, including encounters with robbers and an angry bull. But he also makes some powerful friends who ensure that he has great success with his book.

This success extended to the real world where many new friends immediately took to the scratch-wigged schoolteacher with the long nose and chin, thanks largely to Rowlandson’s animated drawing and endearing facial expressions, which made him the true heir of Hogarth.

Bowing to "popular demand," Ackermann collected the series into book form and published The Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque on May 1, 1812. It reached a fifth edition within a year.

Sequels and Spin-offs

In The Second Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of Consolation, the now-wealthy protagonist hopes to relieve the grief of his wife's death by touring such places as Bath and London. Much of the humor this time comes courtesy of the Irish manservant who accompanies him. Serialized in 1819, the Second Tour was collected a year later.

The trilogy closed with 1821's Third Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of a Wife, but Rowlandson and Combe returned to that universe once more with The History of Johnny Quae, Genius (1822), featuring the exploits of the late doctor's foundling.

A Lucrative Brand Name

As with anything popular, Dr. Syntax had his imitators. Particularly notable was The Adventures of Dr. Comicus (a parody of a satire!) which was illustrated with burlesques of Rowlandson’s work. Also, copyright laws being what they were (practically non-existent), the character was unscrupulously conscripted for such follow-ups as The Tour of Dr. Syntax through London and Dr. Syntax in Paris. True fans, however, knew the real thing and kept the good doctor in reprints -- first color, then black-and-white impressions -- for decades.

The cartoony cleric was adopted for British pub signs. His namesake racehorse, hailed as "the greatest mare in Britain," won twenty Gold Cups over a ten year period. There's even a place near Land's End, Cornwall, called Dr. Syntax's Head.

But the most significant result of the character's popularity was the development of what future generations would call "merchandising." London vendors capitalized on the public's insatiability by offering branded tie-ins such as Dr. Syntax dishes, coats, hats, and wigs. Many of these items, produced as late as the mid-20th century, can still be acquired today. But, if you don't want to pay eBay's prices for Dr. Syntax plates, silver jugs, and vegetable bowls, you can get a more-economically priced "Dream of Dr. Syntax by Thomas Rowlandson" T-Shirt at www.Zazzle.com.

Just the Beginning

Dr. Syntax achieved the fame he sought in his own time, but he's been largely forgotten today, save by comics historians and such individuals as Bloomsbury Press publisher Peter Ginna, whose blog, www.doctorsyntax.net, bears a Rowlandson illustration as its header. "I spend a lot of time worrying about syntax," Ginna explains, "so I'm fond of the Doctor."

Still, it's important to remember that it all started with a funny little grammarian and his aged steed, who paved the way for countless characters, format innovations, and marketing campaigns. There were exciting times ahead for the world of cartooning.

Sources:

Additional information by Jeff Lewis, quoted in Gavin's Adventures on the Mystical Isle of Britain; and from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature (1907–21) at Bartleby.com

The copyright of the article Dr. Syntax and the Birth of the Cartoon Star in Classic Comics is owned by P. Ryan Anthony. Permission to republish Dr. Syntax and the Birth of the Cartoon Star in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.