Popeye, the cartoon character created by the American artist E C Segar, first appeared in a comic strip in 1929. His best friend was J Wellington Wimpy, a deadbeat guy who loved hamburgers as much as the pugnacious Popeye loved spinach. Both became wildly popular comic strip characters.The Wimpy name was trademarked in the 1930s by Chicago businessman Eddie Gold for a fast food restaurant chain. Two decades later, the brand was licensed by the British food conglomerate Joseph Lyons and Co. (Nigella Lawson's mother Vanessa Salmon was a member of the J. Lyons and Co family) The first Wimpy Bar opened in London in 1954 and eventually there were almost 1,000 Wimpys in 23 countries. Their reign began to be challenged in the 1970s by McDonald's.This reproduction menu cover comes from the famous Wimpy's Inn which operated in two locations in San Francisco in the 1930s. Brothers Walt and Adolph Schoch, the sons of Swiss immigrants, also used the cartoon character's name for their hamburger and hot dog shops. Their motto was "Wimpy Says Keep Smiling" - a reference to the fact that Wimpy was a morose sidekick to Popeye - and they printed the motto on all their menus.J Wellington Wimpy's most famous catch-phrase was "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today".This print is available in A4 (21x29.7cm), A3 (29.7x42cm) or A3+ (32.9x48.3cm) sizes, as an Archival Giclée print on acid-free cotton rag paper, complete with a copy of the menu interior (where available).
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