The first issue of Goblin was issued in February 1921 put together by Keith Crombie, Joseph Easton McDougall, James Cowan and Clarke Ashworth. Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock said of literary editor Joe McDougall that he was “one of the most brilliant young writers in Canada today.” McDougall wrote captions for cartoons, articles, jokes and poems as well as drawing cartoons.
Goblin’s newstand sales were the highest of any magazine in Canada. At the heights circulation was 47,000, larger than Maclean’s. Writers included Stephen Leacock, Gregory Clark, Nunnaly Johnson and Bruce Hutchison. Leslie Macfarlane, father of the Hardy Boys, contributed as well.
Artistic contributions came from Canada, Britain and the U.S. and included Lou Skuce, Jimmy Frise, Lawson Wood, Jack Maclaren, Russ Fisher, Walter Schmidt, Syd Law, Guy Rutter, Mabel Amos, Marjorie Jones, Gordon Sparling and Alan Dunn.
Richard Taylor’s first contribution appeared in the November 1926 issue and his first cover in the next issue. From here on he was a regular drawing cartoons under several names and several styles. The two most important were Dick Taylor whose work was in brush and Ricardo with a modern jazzy style to his cartoons. Taylor even advertised a Ricardo School of Humorous Illustration at one point.
Goblin apparently ceased publication with v. 9, no. 9 (May 1929)? and was continued by the New Goblin.
In 1935 Richard Taylor had three cartoons rejected by the New Yorker but was finally accepted in time for the New Yorker issue of November 9, 1935 and in time became one of the most successful cartoonists in the world.
A short history is The Goblin: a brief history of Canada's humour magazine of the 1920s, by John N. Mappin, 32 pages, Montreal : The Author, 1988. Printed for the author by The Porcupine's Quill, Erin, Ontario. “Of this edition, one hundred and eighty-five signed copies have been typeset in Galliard and printed on Zephyr Antique laid. Thirty-five copies are for sale.”
