Topics

Who was "F S"

 

Cards by "F S"

 

This research started because I was interested in the identity of "Karaktus" and the Crown Publishing Company who published comic post cards in St Albans in about 1908. I discovered some slightly earlier "Crown Series" post cards which included some signed "F S" - who had also published cards for the London View Company which went bankrupt in 1907 a year before the Crown Publishing Co. appeared.

 

This raised an interesting question. Was "F S" the founder of the Crown Publishing Company and if so could identifying "F S" help me to identify "Karaktus"? I found that "F S" some people identified him as "Fred Stone" and others as "Fred Spurgin." -

 

So I decided to try and find out about who "F S" was by finding out what he published and where. His publication pattern turned out to be very complex  - with a range of different post card companies printing his work, some of which were published in the United States, and other cards on simple backs. Some designs were printed by more than one publishers - sometime omitting his signature.

 

The simple question "Who published the comic cards in St Albans?" expanded into a major research project.

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

The current evidence strongly points to one very talented artist, Fred Spurgin, who initially used the name Fred Stone prior to about 1906. He then simply used the initials "F S" between 1906 and 1907 (with some cards in the same style being printed as late as 1916, usually without the initials) and from 1910 often signed his own name, Fredk Spurgin.  The best known of the later cards were in the Paternoster series for the Avenue Publishing Co. (1910-1912) and many sets for the International Art Co (1911-1916) and Art & Humour (1916-1926).

 

He also used other names on post cards - such as Dauber, and Tom Gay, and possibly Karaktus. It may well be that he did unsigned work for various publishing companies, but such cards would be difficult to identify.

 

  Karaktus Post Card - St Albans - Deer Dear  
by "Fred Stone"   by "Karaktus"   by "Dauber"

 

Of particular interest are the wide variety of cards he produced  during the First World War

     

 

This online catalogue will concentrate on listing the "F S" cards, and any others that he produced under any name before 1910. Only a brief outline will be given of his vast output of postcards and other art after 1910.