If you’ve ever looked through the Tacoma Daily Ledger on microfilm in the Northwest Room from the 1910s–1920s, you’ve likely come across the political cartoons on the front page and a little cartoon Tacoma tiger cub within the pages. This was the work of Edward Samuel “Tige” Reynolds. He was a cartoonist for the Tacoma Daily Ledger for 13 years. He interpreted national and international affairs in his political cartoons, illustrated the sports section, and created a tiger cub character that became beloved throughout Tacoma.
As a boy, and throughout his life, he was an avid reader of history, especially military history. He was born in Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1877, attended school in Des Moines, Iowa, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and sold newspapers to help pay his way. He had been drawing since he was young. His father, a bandmaster for a touring circus, brought him along, and at age 17 Reynolds made his way to California, where he worked as a newsboy selling papers on trains. It was in California that he began to study drawing, and a year later he got his first newspaper job setting type, running the hand press, and reporting on society events. During this time, he began entering cartoon contests. Many West Coast cartoonists who found success were eventually enticed eastward to places like New York and Boston. One day, Reynolds drew a sketch of the two presidential candidates at the time, Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison. The drawing showed Cleveland riding a bicycle and Harrison scattering tracks in his path. The editor of the San Jacinto Register liked the cartoon so much he ran it. From then on, for the next 36 years, Reynolds worked as a cartoonist.
He first worked for a California populist weekly, then for the Fresno California Democrat, and next for the old Post in San Francisco. In 1902, after losing his position due to the sale of the Post, he found employment as the staff cartoonist for the Tacoma Daily Ledger. In his new role, he was responsible for producing a new cartoon every day. It was here that he created his most well‑known character: a little tiger cub who, for thirty years, watched the affairs of the world alongside Ledger readers. The tiger first appeared in the sports section. At a glance, readers could tell whether the Tacoma baseball team had won or lost based on the cub’s expression. The tiger also appeared in the margins of the paper and inside the main political cartoon, commenting on the news or playfully interacting with other articles. In 1903, John S. Baker, president of the local baseball association, was so inspired by Reynolds’ tiger cartoons that he named the Tacoma team the Tigers.
In 1909, Reynolds accepted a position with the Vancouver Province in British Columbia. The editor, W. C. Nicol, tried to persuade him to leave his tiger in Tacoma and draw a comical little beaver instead (more fitting for a Canadian paper). According to an article in The Oregonian, Reynolds tried, but “the beaver would not come out of the pencil; he was always lumpy and sad.” Two years later, Reynolds joined The Oregonian, where he remained until 1918, when he returned to the Tacoma Daily Ledger. His return was described as a “Christmas present the Ledger brought to its readers,” complete with a front‑page photo of the artist surrounded by his tiger cubs. The following day’s cartoon commented on how much Tacoma had grown since his departure in 1909, showing the tiger with luggage in hand, looking out over a much larger city. During this period, Reynolds’ cartoons were also being published in national and international newspapers. His tiger became a popular local character and appeared all over Tacoma. It was painted on the side of Fire Station No. 1 at 209 Saint Helens Avenue during the Montamara Festival (for more on the festival, see our previous blog post Tacoma’s Speed Demons). The tiger also appeared on postcards.
Reynolds worked for the Ledger for another six years before returning to Oregon to work again for The Oregonian. He went on to win awards and became one of the best‑known cartoonists on the West Coast. One of his drawings was used on a monument in Yakima, Washington, in 1929, commemorating Urban F. Diteman Jr., a cowboy who attempted to cross the Atlantic and was lost at sea. Edward Samuel “Tige” Reynolds passed away on April 26, 1931, of a heart ailment. Regional papers, especially those in Tacoma and Oregon, devoted multi‑page tributes honoring his contributions to journalism and cartooning. “One striking characteristic of his work,” said a managing editor of The Oregonian, “was its unfailing good humor. Tige’s cartoons were never mean or purposely offensive. He liked humor for humor’s sake and preferred to draw a cartoon with a laugh in it as well as a point.”
If you would like to learn more about Edward “Tige” Reynolds, see his cartoons in the Tacoma Daily Ledger, read more about the Tacoma Tigers baseball team of the early 1900s, or look through the compilation Fifty Cartoons by ‘Tige’ Reynolds, visit us in the Northwest Room.
The Northwest Room's hours are:
Tuesday - Open 4:00-8:00
Wednesday - Appointment only from 5:00-7:00
Thursday - Open 10:00-6:00
Friday - Appointment only from 2:00-5:00
Saturday - Open 10:00-6:00
Visit this link to book a research appointment: https://www.tacomalibrary.org/visit-northwest-room/
Sources
“Beavers Trim Tigers Twice,” The Tacoma Daily Ledger, July 3rd 1909
Edward Samuel Reynolds, “Cartoon,” The Province, December 9th 1909
“’Tige’ Reynolds Joins Tacoma Ledger,” The Tacoma Daily Ledger, December 29th 1918
Reynolds, Edward, “Tacoma Then, And Now—” The Tacoma Daily Ledger, December 30th 1918
“‘Tige’ Reynolds to Draw No More,” The Oregonian, May 27th 1931
Reynolds, Edward, “Fifty Cartoons,” (Portland, Oregon, Metropolitan Press, 1931)
