John Wilson Bengough

John Bengough (1819–1899), father of John Wilson Bengough, in 1899

Bengough's grandparents John (d. 5 April 1867), a ship's carpenter, and Johanna (née Jackson, d. 18 March 1859) were born in St Andrews in Scotland in the 1790s and immigrated with their children to Canada at an unknown date; they are known to have been in Whitby on Lake Ontario in the Province of Canada by the 1850s. They brought with them at least three children, including Bengough's father John (23 May 1819 in Scotland – 1899)[2] who became a cabinetmaker.[3] John Bengough was politically active: he advocated social reforms such as the Georgist single tax and had several Town Council appointments, though he never held political office. He used the title Captain, which suggests he may have sometime sailed ships out of Port Whitby.[2]

Bengough's father married Margaret Wilson, an Irish immigrant[4] born in Bailieborough in County Cavan,[5] and the couple had six children: five sons and a daughter.[2] John Wilson Bengough was the second,[6] born into the deeply Protestant family[7] on 7 April 1851 in Toronto,[3] where the elder Bengough had run a shop on Victoria Street in the 1840s.[8] It is not known when they moved to Toronto, but it is known that by 1853 the family had moved back to Whitby.[5]

Bengough attended Whitby Grammar School, where he was an average student;[6] he won a prize one year for general proficiency, for which he received a book titled Boyhood of Great Artists.[9] He was an avid sketcher,[10] a talent which caught the notice of his teacher, who presented Bengough with a set of paints one Christmas. Bengough credited this act with setting him on the path to a career as an artist.[6] Whitby residents later reminisced of the young Bengough drawing chalk portraits of his neighbours on fences.[11] He described himself as a "voracious reader", particularly of the Whitby Gazette, a didactic weekly that stressed Christian values.[7]

Whitby

Bengough grew up in Whitby and there became involved in publishing.

After graduation, Bengough tried his hand at a number of jobs, including photographer's assistant,[12] and he articled to a lawyer for some time[4] before getting a typesetting job at the Whitby Gazette.[12] The Gazette's editor was George Ham, an extroverted journalist who later worked as public relations chief for the Canadian Pacific Railway.[9] Bengough contributed short local-interest articles. In mid-1870, Ham issued a four-page daily to capitalize on interest in the Franco-Prussian War and commissioned Bengough to provide a serialized novel for it. The popular reception of The Murderer's Scalp (or The Shrieking Ghost of the Bloody Den) encouraged Bengough to devote himself to a journalism career.[12] The serial went unfinished because Ham cancelled the daily when the war died down.[5] The papers and magazines that came into the Gazette offices, in particular Harper's Weekly, introduced Bengough to the growing field of cartooning. Bengough reminisced,

I divided my time between mechanical duties for sordid wages and poetry for the good of humanity, and meanwhile I kept an eye on Thomas Nast the cartoonist.[12]

"Who stole the people's money?" – "'Twas him."
(18 August 1871)

Thomas Nast's cartoons of the corruption in Tammany Hall contributed to the fall of Boss Tweed, and inspired Bengough to bring political cartooning to Canada.

Bengough considered the politically and socially aware Nast a "beau ideal" whose "moral crusade against abject wrong"—in particular his relentless Boss Tweed cartoons—inspired the young Bengough to "emulate Nast in the field of Canadian politics".[13] Bengough so admired the cartoonist that he sent a cartoon to Harper's of Nast confronting the Tammany Hall political machine, rendered in Nast's style,[14] to which the editor returned a positive response and an acknowledgement from Nast.[15]

At twenty, Bengough moved to Toronto and became a reporter on politician George Brown's newspaper The Globe.[16] The Liberal paper was the most influential in the country; Bengough's family had supported the Liberal Party since before Confederation, and these connections probably played a role in his getting the position at the paper.[17] Editorial cartooning had no presence in Canadian newspapers at the time and was not to have one until Hugh Graham brought the practice to his Montreal Star in 1876;[18][lower-alpha 1] Bengough stated he did not consider the possibility of editorial cartooning at the time.[20] The lack of cartooning opportunities disappointed him, and he enrolled briefly in the Ontario School of Art, which he found pedantic and stifling;[16] he quit after one term.[20]

The legitimate forces of humor and caricature can and ought to serve the state in its highest interests, and that the comic journal which has no other aim than to amuse its readers for the moment, falls short of its highest mission.

— John Wilson Bengough, Grip, 7 January 1888[21]

Portrait of Bengough from A Caricature History of Canadian Politics (1886)

Bengough told the following story of how he took up publishing: He had made a caricature of James Beaty, Sr., editor of the conservative Toronto Leader, and Beaty's nephew Sam found it so amusing that he made a lithographic copy for himself at the printer Rolph Bros. Impressed with his first exposure to lithography, and frustrated with the lack of opportunities to have his cartoons published, Bengough asked himself, "Why not start a weekly comic paper with lithographed cartoons?"[22] His brother Thomas remembered a somewhat different story in which Bengough first began distributing copies of his cartoons on the street.[22] Of his printed cartoons, only one of Liberal member Edward Blake has survived.[23]

In 1849–50[24] John Henry Walker's short-lived weekly Punch in Canada provided the first regular outlet for Canadian political cartooning;[lower-alpha 2][26] others such as The Grumbler (1858–69), Grinchuckle (1869–70), and Diogenes (1868–70) did not last long, either. George-Édouard Desbarats's more conservative, Montreal-based Canadian Illustrated News (1869–83) lasted much longer. Bengough was to found the first major humour magazine in English Canada.[27]

A raven character in the Charles Dickens novel Barnaby Rudge inspired the name of the magazine Grip. Its pages carried political and social commentary along with satirical cartoons, and its debut issue of 24 May 1873 declared: "Grip will be entirely independent and impartial, always, and on all subjects." Bengough set the editorial policy and was the lead cartoonist.[28]

Grip's initial financing came from Toronto publisher Andrew Scott Irving.[29] Later in the year Bengough set up an office on 2 Toronto Street and with his four brothers formed the Bengough Brothers company.[30] Bengough continued to work at the Globe until Grip established itself. He used pseudonyms until he left the newspaper later in the year.[30] The editor's name appeared as a "Charles P. Hall" until Thomas Phillips Thompson took over as editor on 26 July under the pseudonym "Jimuel Briggs"; he lasted until the 6 September issue, when he printed a pro-alcohol article despite Bengough's prohibitionist views. The Toronto Globe's R. H. Larminie then took on co-editing duties as "Demos Mudge" with Bengough as "Barnaby Rudge".[lower-alpha 3][24] Regular contributors other than Bengough included R. W. Phipps, who produced the greatest amount of Grip's poetry; Tom Boylan, who Bengough considered Grip's best humourist; Edward Edwards, who wrote sombre topical articles in contrast to the humour of the rest of the magazine; and William Alexander Foster who wrote scathing editorials about Oliver Mowat's Ontario Liberal Party, which contrasted with Bengough's position and lent credibility to the magazine's assertions of non-partisanship. Writers such as Peter McArthur got their start with Grip.[31]

"Whither are we drifting?"
(16 August 1873)

John A. Macdonald proclaims "These hands are clean!"—scrawled on his hand is the message he had written to Hugh Allan: "I need another $10,000".

Grip's early issues attracted little notice.[32] The Hamilton Spectator declared it "dull ... When Grip dies, which will be soon, Toronto will be much more cheerful. ... Grip is what Punch would be with all the spirit left out".[33] Events arising from the Canadian federal election of 1872 shortly gave Bengough sufficient popular material to lampoon: accusations of bribery and other improprieties involving prime minister John A. Macdonald and business magnate Hugh Allan inflated into the Pacific Scandal, the most closely followed scandal in the young nation's history. Macdonald's features lent themselves to caricature and gave Bengough the chance to proselytize.[34] Circulation rose to about 2,000 copies per issue at the time; Bengough's brother Thomas reported that each new issue was eagerly awaited at the House of Commons.[35] A 23 August 1873 cartoon entitled "The Beauties of a Royal Commission: When shall we three meet again?" drew praise from newspapers across Canada, as well as from Liberal MP Lucius Seth Huntington in a speech to the House of Commons.[36]

Despite their Liberal leanings, in 1878 Bengough and Grip took the side of the proposed Conservative National Policy of high tariffs on trade with the US, against the governing Liberal stance of free trade. The issue contributed to the loss of Alexander Mackenzie's incumbent Liberals to Macdonald's Conservatives in the election of 1878,[37] despite Grip's prediction that Mackenzie would win again.[38] The magazine supported no party officially in its early years, but made its support for the Liberals explicit in the elections of 1887 and of 1891, after Wilfrid Laurier had become party leader. In the mid-1880s the Grip Printing and Publishing Company took on printing duties for the Ontario Liberal government. This support, however, resulted in no federal election wins.[39]

Grip had considerable influence on the public perception of politicians. That it was slanted in favour of Liberals and against Conservatives drove Conservative supporters to launch rival publications. The first was Jester, begun in 1878, which featured cartoons by Henri Julien that painted Macdonald in a benevolent light. Jester failed to find an audience to match Bengough's and folded the following year.[40] In 1886, Bengough reported a weekly circulation for Grip of 50,000.[35]

In March 1874, in the music hall of the Toronto Mechanics' Institute,[lower-alpha 4] Bengough began giving comic chalk talk performances,[41] which he later toured across the country.[18] He impressed audiences with his ability to capture the likeness of members of the audience in a single penstroke.[42] He continued his chalk talks throughout his life and travelled with them to the US, Australia, New Zealand,[35] and Britain.[43] He published an autobiography titled Chalk Talks in 1922, the year before his death.[42]

Grip's readership declined under Thomas Phillips Thompson's editorship.

Early Canadian feminist writer Sarah Anne Curzon made regular contributions to Grip.[44] At Bengough's request in 1882, she wrote the closet drama The Sweet Girl Graduate for the book The Grip Sack. The drama tells of a woman who disguises herself as a man to attend university at a time when women were barred in Canada from post-secondary education.[45]

In 1883, Frank Wilson took over management of the printing of Grip.[35] Thomas Phillips Thompson became associate editor. He shared with Bengough a radical political outlook and a taste for satire, though was less open to new ideas than Bengough, who was quick to attach himself to new causes. Thompson was anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, and anti-militarist.[46] In 1892, the managers of Grip passed the editorship from Bengough to Thompson[47] and Bengough's cartoons stopped appearing after the 6 August 1892 issue.[48] Years later, Bengough's brother Thomas blamed the board of directors at Grip, Inc., for the falling out over "general mismanagement",[49] which may have involved losses incurred in relation to a government contract.[48]

Grip's tone became increasingly strident: anti-French, anti-Catholic, pro-socialist. This, and an increased use of racial caricature, seem to have alienated readers.[50] Under the new editorship readership fell[47] until Grip ceased publication in July 1893.[49] Grip, Inc., sold off assets, such as its printing machines, to repay debts.[51]

Bengough revived Grip in 1894[47] under a new company called Phoenix Publishing with a partner named Bell who had newspaper publishing experience in Belleville.[51] They softened Grip's tone, but the content appeared rushed[52] and it lasted only from 4 January to 29 December 1894.[53] Macdonald had died in 1891, and Bengough blamed the publication's ill fortunes on the loss of such a target.[35]

After Grip ceased publication, Bengough worked for the next quarter-century as a cartoonist for a variety of newspapers, including The Globe, The Toronto Evening Telegram, the Montreal Star, Canadian Geographic, the American The Public and The Single Tax Review, The Morning Chronicle[35] and Daily Express in England, and the Sydney Herald in Australia.[54]

Bengough toured giving chalk talks internationally.

Bengough continued to devote himself to political causes. He supported the Liberals' successful campaign in the federal election of 1896 with cartoons in the Toronto Globe and with a song he composed titled "Ontario, Ontario".[42] He belonged to numerous political and social clubs.[42] He was a founding member of the Royal Society of Canada in 1880,[55] to which the Governor General appointed him an Associate. He was professor of elocution at Knox College from 1899 to 1901.[42] He served as director of the Toronto Exhibition, auditor for the Canadian Peace and Arbitration Society,[56] member for three years of the board of directors of the Victoria Industrial School,[56] and president of the Toronto Single Tax Association, and took part in the People's Forum social activist group.[4]

In 1907, Bengough campaigned to join the Toronto City Council as an alderman for Ward 3. Major newspapers such as the Toronto Star promoted him, and the Toronto Daily World ran a photograph of him on its front page when he won.[56] He won again in 1908 and 1909.[4] He counted future Toronto mayor Horatio Clarence Hocken amongst his reformist allies on the Council[57] and promoted issues such as public ownership of hydroelectric power, but found little support for his ideas.[4] His successes included legislation restricting the issuing of liquor licenses, which found support when he made it an election issue in his 1909 campaign.[58]

In March 1909,[58] Bengough took a leave of absence from the Toronto City Council to tour Australia and New Zealand and gave up his post when he returned.[59] When the First World War broke out, he devoted his energies to promoting patriotism and the war effort, and supported conscription, a cause that was popular in English Canada but unpopular in Quebec and which ran counter to the Liberal Party position. Bengough nevertheless continued to support the party and used his cartoons to promote party leader William Lyon Mackenzie King in the federal election of 1921.[4]

Following a chalk-talk performance in Moncton, New Brunswick in 1922, Bengough suffered an attack of angina pectoris, attributed to overwork during a previous tour of Western Canada. He died of it on 2 October 1923[18] at his drawing board at his home on 58 St Mary Street in Toronto while working on a cartoon in support of an anti-smoking campaign.[4] At his memorial service on 22 November, the editor of the Hamilton Herald, Albert E. S. Smythe, declared him the "Canadian Dickens" and one of Walt Whitman's "great companions".[60]