Julius Stafford Baker

Julius Stafford Baker (1869–1961) was an English cartoonist and creator of the series Tiger Tim. His name is sometimes given as Julius Baker, Jr or II.

Biography

Born in Whitechapel, East London, Baker was the son of Julius Baker, a one-time theatrical scene painter in London who died in the Turks Islands in 1904, and a nephew of John Philip Stafford (1851–1899), an artist who also worked as a cartoonist for the magazine Funny Folks. Stafford taught the young Baker as an apprentice to draw at his studio in Fulham, and he went on to specialize in cartoons, firstly for adults and later for children. Apart from his covers for Funny Folks, in the late 19th century his work appeared regularly in Judge in the US, first under the name Frank Martin, and later signing as J.S. Baker. From 1902, Baker's Casey Court strip was a long-running success, and he became the creator of several more of the best-known children's cartoon characters of the Edwardian era, including Tiger Tim and The Bruin Boys.

Baker should not be confused with his son Julius Stafford-Baker (1904–1988), who became one of the later artists of the Tiger Tim comic strip and much else besides, including serving as a Second World War war artist for the Royal Air Force, or with his son, yet another Julius, who went on to found the Happy Dragons' Press. Because of the recurring name, many errors have been published.