I recently found this wonderful vintage 1924 edition of "Skeezix and Uncle Walt", written and illustrated by Frank King. This book tells the story of how Walt came to have baby Skeezix. Here's a little background from the Wikipedia entry about the classic comic strip, Gasoline Alley:"After a couple of years, the ChicagoTribune's editor, Captain Joseph Patterson...decided the strip should have something to appeal to women, as well, and suggested King add a baby. Only problem was the main character, Walt Wallet, was a confirmed bachelor. On February 14, 1921, Walt found the necessary baby abandoned on his doorstep. That was the day Gasoline Alley entered history as the first comic strip in which the characters aged normally. The baby, named Skeezix (cowboy slang for a motherless calf), grew up, fought in World War II, and is now a retired grandfather. Walt married after all, and had more children, who had children of their own. More characters entered the storyline on the periphery and some grew to occupy center stage."
It's packed with delightful two-color illustrations of Walt learning how to take care of Skeezix, as well as the other Gasoline Alley characters. I love the 1920's style of these illustrations! I've upcycled the book into a journal/sketchbook with 21 pages from the original book interleaved between 60 blank white pages, and it's now available in my Etsy shop. Here are some pictures of the original illustrations included in the journal. - you can click on the images for a larger view:
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