A Laugh a Day
Les Lumsdon’s Cartoons
The popular Australian cartoonist Les Lumsdon (1912-1977) was born in Abermain, New South Wales, a small outlying town of Newcastle. Spanning three decades, Lumsdon documented the lives of ordinary Australians, capturing the political mood of the times in his satirical comic sketches.
He created these hand-drawn cartoons for the Newcastle Morning Herald from 1946 through to his retirement in 1977. Described as ‘a likeable and modest man with an impish sense of fun’, his simple but effective sketches resonated with readers who sought him out whenever he made a public appearance.
The prolific artist published five illustrated books and, to give you an idea of just how popular they were, Lumsden reportedly boasted of how he emptied seventeen pens while signing autographs for fans at the Newcastle Show. That’s a lot of ink, even for him.
