Archibald Chasemore

William Harry Archibald Chasemore, who signed his work with a simple A.C., was a self-taught cartoonist born in Fulham, London in 1844. He was the pre-eminent cartoonist on Judy through its long run and his distinctive work appeared in boys’ story papers and comic papers until just past the turn of the century. Much of his earliest work consisted of cartoons for puzzle pages done in partnership with Charles Henry Ross.

He contributed to Judy, Fun, Punch, Ally Sloper’s Half-Holiday, Beeton’s Boy’s Own Magazine, John Dicks Boy’s Herald, The Boy’s Own Paper, Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News, Ladies Pictorial, Bow Bells, Every Week, Million, Dalziel’s Pictorial World, Queen, St. Stephen’s Review and the Sketch. The last work of his I find is in the comic paper Pick-Me-Up after 1900.

He and his wife Emma had three children, Archibald E. Chasemore (later an architect and surveyor,) Ida Chasemore, and Edwin Chasemore who became an actor. Chasemore senior was living in Barnes, Surrey in 1901 and seems to have retired about 1902 but his obituary date is so far unknown. Chasemore figures in the 1898 book At the Sign of the Brush and Pen by J. G. Reid.

Charles Ross, Jr. drew cartoons for Ally Sloper’s Half-Holiday in a style strongly reflecting Chasemore’s and signed them Tootsie Sloper.

*Thanks to Steve Holland