History of this Illustration
For many years the creator of this famous figure was thought
to be British cartoonist W. E. Hill, who published it in 1915.
Hill almost certainly adapted the figure from an original concept that was popular throughout the world on trading and puzzle cards.
The anonymous dated German postcard above from 1888 depicts the image in its earliest known form.
The 1890 example above shows quite clearly its association as “My Wife and Mother-in-Law.”
