Buttons An' Beaux

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Buttons An' Beaux, by Sharon Smith

Strip run: 1950 - 1953

Before Sharon Kane became well-known as a children's book author and illustrator, she created a syndicated cartoon called Buttons An' Beaux. The humor centered on teenage life and dating in the early 1950s. The single panel cartoon ran six days a week in newspapers across the country while the artist herself attended high school and then college, thinking up ideas and doing Buttons An' Beaux artwork along with her homework. She was 17 years old and growing up in Indiana when it started, and her name was Sharon Smith at that time. The cartoon was published by the McNaught Syndicate of New York and ran for three years before it was discontinued in 1953.

For a great biography on Sharon Kane that she has provided for the site, click here.

Example of Buttons An' Beaux daily panel by Sharon Kane, May 5, 1950. Copyright McNaught Syndicate, Inc. Art image size: 8" x 8". Caption reads: "I've got to go, Suzie --- Jack just drove up in his convertible."

Example of Buttons An' Beaux daily panel by Sharon Kane, June 9, 1950. Copyright McNaught Syndicate, Inc. Art image size: 8" x 8". Caption reads: "Doesn't he just reek with genius!"

Newspaper clipping of Buttons An' Beaux daily panel for June 9, 1950.

Example of Buttons An' Beaux daily panel by Sharon Kane, July 26, 1952. Copyright McNaught Syndicate, Inc. Art image size: 8" x 8". Caption reads: "I kept telling him how smart and wonderful he was - but then he figured he was too good for me!"

A great original Buttons An' Beaux sketch that Sharon sent me. The caption reads, "But, Henry, how could I be doing fine? I'm not even touching the water!" Thanks, Sharon!