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Dorri Partain
Managing Editor
Head back-to-school with the cartoon cat “that even cat-haters can love.”
As created by cartoonist Jim Davis, Garfield first appeared in newspaper comic sections June 19, 1978 — distributed by United Features Syndicate. Depicted as an overweight, grumpy feline owned by Jon Arbuckle, Garfield has some uniquely human personality traits that often clash with the intentions of his owner.
Additional characters Odie — originally owned by Jon’s friend Lyman — teddy bear Pooky and Nermal the kitten were added as this feature became more popular. By 1981, licensing agreements offered an array of products featuring Garfield; Davis himself quipped that “Garfield will be on everything but pantyhose and TVs.”
The Mead Corporation of Dayton, Ohio, manufactured a series of six spiral notebooks with Garfield covers during that time frame. Company founder Colonel Daniel Mead (1817-1891) entered the paper mill business in 1846, became the sole owner of the mill in 1881 and changed the name to the Mead Paper Company.
Mead, however, was not the company to introduce the spiral-bound notebook. German inventor Ludwig Staub filed a patent for his “Notebook with Exchangeable Leaves” in May 1923. US Patent 1516932A was granted in November 1924, but it wasn’t until 1933 when Western Tablet & Stationery Company marketed Staub’s notebook to scholars as “The Spiral.”
By 1972, Mead had acquired its competitor, then known as Westab, and began offering The Spiral with decorative covers in its “Superstar” series — featuring teen idols David Cassidy and Donny Osmond.
Both Garfield notebooks were purchased at a Venture department store for 99 cents. Venture declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed all Kansas City area stores in 1998.