Grace Gebbie Weiderseim pioneered the interest in post cards of children with round faces, plump bodies, and rosy cheeks, which became popular in the years immediately prior to the outbreak of the First World War. Her cards were definitely being distributed in England by March 1908, and similar cards, signed by Fred Spurgin, were being  published by August 1910 by Avenue Publishing and by November 1911 by Inter-Art.  Spurgin continued to publish children oriented comic cards when he changed publisher to Art & Humour in 1916.

Three series of unsigned cards appear between 1908 and 1910 which might be by Fred Spurgin

• Philco Series published by the Philco Publishing Company

• Kute Kiddies published by Inter-Art

• Infantastic published by Watkins & Krake

• Humorous Art Studies Series published by Shamrock & Co

Below I have listed samples of post cards, in date order,  produced by Grace Gebbie Weiderseim, the four unsigned series, and relevant later series signed by Frederick Spurgin. Comments about authorship are left until the end, so that the reader can compare the cards without being influenced by my interpretation.

by Grace Gebbie Weiderseim

Earliest UK noted March 1908

Kute Kiddies (unsigned)

Published by Inter-Art  Earliest noted October 1909

Infantastic (unsigned)

Published by Watkins & Krake Earliest noted October 1909

Humorous Art Studies Series (unsigned)

Published by Shamrock & Co  Earliest Noted March 1910

Paternoster Series (signed)

Published by Avenue Publishing  Earliest Noted August 1910

Bloomer Kids  (signed)

  Published by Inter-Art   Earliest Noted November 1911

Inter-Art Series (signed) published in 1912

Inter-Art Series (signed) published in 1913/14

Inter-Art Series (signed) published during the War

Art & Humour Series (signed) - 1916-1919 (Wartime)

Art & Humour Series (signed) - 1916 onwards (not War)

Other early cards

CONCLUSIONS

What is clear is that between the closure of the London View Co Ltd in 1907 and 1911 Fred Spurgin had acquired the ability to produce attractive comic cards, using children, and I have identified four different sets which could represent stages in the process. All four companies were within the post card publishing area of Central London which Fred undoubtedly knew well, and in each case there is a possible reason to believe that Fred Spurgin had other contacts with the company.

The Kute Kiddies case is more straight-forward. In 1911 Fred Spurgin started producing a large number of signed sets for the International Art Company, including a number featuring children, and may well have produced earlier unsigned cards. The pair of cards shown here, with the signed card being a redrawn version of the unsigned card, seem to show a definite connection - making it reasonable to assume that these cards were by Fred Spurgin.

The Infantastic series is often considered to be by Fred Spurgin, and there were strong links between the Watkins family and the London View Co Ltd. Bernard Watkins was one of the first to "publish" the early "F S" cards and Watkins & Krake also produce the Dauber series (by Spurgin). The style is also compatible with later Fred Spurgin children comic cards and there can be no doubt that he was the artist behind this series.

Watkins & Krake were another short-lived company so it would not have been unreasonable to Fred to have looked for other openings and the Humorous Art Studies Series could well have been the result. Shamrock & Co was publishing some very different Fred Spurgin signed cards. While there may be some small style differences, when an artist is producing similar cards for two different companies he is likely to deliberately introduce such differences. My opinion is that his series should also be considered to be by Fred Spurgin.

To conclude, the cards shown above illustrate a clear stepwise pathway by which Fred Spurgin developed the ideas of Grace Gebbie Weiderseim over a period of years.