Sydney Leon Miller (24 December 1901 – 31 December 1983) was a prolific Australian artist celebrated for his black-and-white work as a cartoonist, illustrator, caricaturist and comic-book author. Known professionally as Syd Miller, he was employed as a staff-artist for Smith's Weekly from late-1922 until 1935, when he left to pursue a diversity of freelance work. Miller created a number of comic-strips during his career, most notably the iconic 'Chesty Bond' character as a marketing campaign for the Australian clothing company Bonds. He also wrote and illustrated the Rod Craig comic-strip which was serialised from 1946 to 1955 and syndicated across Australia and internationally.

Biography

Early life

Sydney Leon Miller was born on 24 December 1901 in Strathfield, an inner western suburb of Sydney, the only child of Sydney Miller and Leontine (née Thorp).Family records, per Ancestry.com. Sydney's father was a newsagent at Strathfield. In November 1912 Leontine initiated divorce proceedings and the divorce of Syd's parents was finalised in August 1912.Stammered and Hissed: Tell-tale Noises, The Sun (Sydney), 27 November 1912, page 9; Divorce, Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 20 August 1913, page 6. Both his parents remarried in 1913, his father to Eleanor Hutchinson and his mother to Alfred Hartnup.

Syd Miller was educated at Fort Street High School where his artistic talent was discouraged.Lindsay Foyle (2009), 'Testy Chesty Noodled by Bonds Move', Inkspot, Australian Cartoonist's Association, Autumn 2009, Vol. 58, page 6.

Work

Miller left school in 1916, aged fifteen, and worked briefly for Muir & Neil, a pharmaceutical importer, before finding a position as an apprentice in the process-engraving department of The Bulletin. While working at the Bulletin Miller attended night classes at the Royal Art Society of New South Wales.

In 1917 Harry Julius formed the Cartoon Filmads Studio, at that stage a division of Smith and Julius Advertising, for the production of animated cartoons used as advertising in cinemas. Julius hired a group of artists, including Miller, to become his chief animators. The company expanded rapidly, offering to clients a wide range of animated advertisements that would screen in cinemas prior to the main feature.

Miller was one of the artists whose drawings were published in the June 1920 issue of Aussie magazine, by then subtitled The Cheerful Monthly.Aussie: The Cheerful Monthly (advertisement), Smith's Monthly (Sydney), 19 June 1920, page 23. An article in June 1920 praising of the qualities of the Aussie magazine singled out "the animal pictures of Syd. Miller", a young Sydney artist who the writer predicted "will someday achieve big things in this line".The "Aussie", National Advocate (Bathurst), 22 June 1920, page 3; the article describes Miller as a seventeen-year-old, but in June 1920 Miller was aged 18 years.

Smith's Weekly and freelance work

Several of Miller's animal-themed cartoons were published in Smith's Weekly during 1921 (probably freelance contributions).At the Zoo, Smith's Weekly (Sydney), 8 January 1921, page 28; The Week, Smith's Weekly, 10 December 1921, page 21.

In the first half of 1922 Miller had five of his comic-strips published in the Sunbeams children's supplement in the Sunday edition of Sydney's The Sun newspaper. Each of the strips featured animal characters, three of which featured 'Billy the Bear' (a koala).Billy the Bear Gets Some Adventure, The Sun (Sydney), 26 February 1922, page 4; Billy the Bear Tricked by Lawrence the Lyrebird, The Sun, 26 March 1922, page 4; Billy the Bear Fixes Freddy Fox, The Sun, 23 April 1922, page 4. His other comic-strips were a dog tale (Dirt-Bin Dan & Polly Peke) and a story of Noah and his animal passengers (Ark-Larks).Dirt-Bin Dan & Polly Peke, The Sun (Sydney), 30 April 1922, page 4; Ark-Larks, The Sun, 18 June 1922, page 1.

Miller was employed as a staff-artist by Smith's Weekly, probably from mid- to late-1922.Blaikie confirms 1922 as the year Miller joined Smith's Weekly; page 79 of George Blaikie (1966), Remember Smith's Weekly? A Biography of an Uninhibited National Australian Newspaper, Adelaide: Rigby Ltd. A number of his early cartoons for Smith's had biblical themes.Examples include: Noah's next-door neighbour, Smith's Weekly (Sydney), 20 May 1922, page 19; David: "Yer can lay yer odds...", Smith's Weekly, 15 July 1922, page 19. Miller often featured animals in his cartoons, including his 'Squizzy the Pup' comic-strip that appeared semi-regularly from 1922 to 1924 (and occasionally from 1925 to 1928).Examples include: The Adventures of Squizzy the Pup - An Attack of Bullantics, Smith's Weekly (Sydney), 30 September 1922, page 24; Squizzy the Pup Introduces His Latest Acquaintance, Smith's Weekly, 18 October 1924, page 15.

When Smith's Weekly artist Alek Sass died on 1 December 1922, Miller took over Sass' role of illustrating stage and screen actors and their theatrical characters in the regular On and Off feature in the newspaper.Alek Sass Dead, Evening News (Sydney), 1 December 1922, page 8. Miller's first drawing in this vein, published on 9 December 1922, was a drawing of three actors in their roles in Spangles, a musical comedy playing at Fuller's Theatre in Sydney (described as "a mad whirl of humour and melody and shapely limbs in delightful costumes").Spangles!, Smiths Weekly, 9 December 1922, page 12.Spangles, Australian Jewish Chronicle (Sydney), 14 December 1922, page 14. Syd Miller remained involved with the On and Off column until it was wound up in late 1929, providing illustrations and also occasionally writing theatrical reviews.Examples include: A Row of Types from "The Sentimental Bloke" at the Sydney Palace, Smith's Weekly (Sydney), 30 December 1922, page 12; "Sally" in Our Majesty's, Smith's Weekly, 27 January 1923, page 12; various, Smith's Weekly, 29 November 1924, page 12; Since the Talkies..., Smith's Weekly, 19 January 1929, page 7; various, Smith's Weekly, 12 October 1929, page 7.

Miller also drew illustrations for the regular columns written by Ethel Kelly (Mrs. T. H. Kelly) during 1923 and early 1924.Examples include: Fine Manners Make Fine Men, Smith's Weekly (Sydney), 24 February 1923, page 20;The Hardships of the Locked Gate, Smith's Weekly, 30 June 1923, page 22; In Defence of the Telephone Girl, Smith's Weekly, 4 August 1923, page 22; By the Valley of the Kings, Smith's Weekly, 26 January 1924, page 20. He also provided small drawings during 1923 for the semi-regular Sadie Said column (replacing Sass in this role after his death).Examples include: Sadie Said, Smith's Weekly, 6 January 1923, page 25; Sadie Said, Smith's Weekly, 11 August 1923, page 9.

In April 1923 Syd Miller and Susan Austin were married at St. Leonards on Sydney's lower North Shore region. The couple had two children, Robin born in 1928 and Peter in 1930.

Miller was a founding member of the Australian Society of Black-and-White Artists in July 1924.Black-and-White Artists, The Sun (Sydney), 18 July 1924, page 8. Miller extended the range of his contributions to Smith's Weekly during the mid- to late-1920s. In addition to his illustrations for the On and Off column and his animal-themed cartoons and comic-strips, Miller's drawings included cartoons, comic-strips and caricatures on a broad range of subjects and themes, including political and social commentary.Survey of digitalised Australian newspapers, Trove website. Examples of Miller's broad thematic range includes (all from Smith's Weekly): Aesop, 1924, 5 April 1924, page 14; Manager: This bad feeling..., 13 November 1926, page 18; Bob Bailie, 21 May 1927, page 5; The Sleeping Hog, 28 January 1928, page 12; Babes in the Wood, 13 October 1928, page 3; Critical Moment in Coal Crisis, 16 March 1929, page 1; Parade of the Swallowed Platoon, 10 August 1929, page 13.

As well as traditional pen and ink drawing, in the 1930s Miller began to use a scraperboard for some of his drawings.Examples of Miller using a scraperboard: Dave: That's Venus!, Smith's Weekly (Sydney), 11 March 1933, page 4; "Smith's" Commemoration of the 15th Anniversary of Armistice (signed 'Noel'), Smith's Weekly, 11 November 1933, page 17.

Miller had the capacity for long hours of work; "endowed with an almost terrifying nervous energy, he could work over ninety hours a week". By about 1933 he began taking on freelance work to offset a salary cut he and the other Smith's Weekly artists had taken during the Depression years.George Blaikie (1966), Remember Smith's Weekly? A Biography of an Uninhibited National Australian Newspaper, Adelaide: Rigby Ltd., pages 79-80. In June and July 1933 Miller's drawings (several using the scraperboard technique) were used to illustrate short fiction stories in the Australian Women's Weekly.Australian Women's Weekly: The Siren, 17 June 1933, page 11; Probation, 24 June 1933, page 11; Wise in Her Generation, 1 July 1933, page 11; And Then the Woman Laughed, 22 July 1933, page 11; Cheap, 29 July 1933, page 7. A number of his cartoons also appeared in the same publication in the period July to September 1933.Examples include: Have you ever felt like this in public - in last year's frock and hat?, Australian Women's Weekly, 8 July 1933, page 23; Foolish Fashion Forecasts, Australian Women's Weekly, 29 July 1933, page 4. However, under the terms of his employment contract with Smith's Weekly, Miller was not permitted to do outside work. Frank Marien, Smith's editor-in-chief, suspected Miller was breaking his contract but was unable to prove it or get Miller to admit to the transgression. One afternoon in the Assembly Hotel, adjacent to the newspaper offices, Miller and Marien "became very pally over a few beers and Syd growing expansive, confessed that he had been doing outside work". As a result of his admission, Marien sacked Miller, but afterwards he regretted his action and "begged Syd to ignore the dismissal, and the artist came back". Miller and Marien came to an agreement whereby Miller's drawings that were published in Smith's were signed with the name 'Noël' (Miller's middle name backwards). The illustrations signed 'Noël' were published during the period September to December 1933.Examples of Miller's use of the signature 'Noël': The Good Companions, Smith's Weekly (Sydney), 16 September 1933, page 9; Thoughtlessness of the Common Dog Flea and "Smith's" Commemoration of the 15th Anniversary of Armistice, Smith's Weekly, 11 November 1933, page 17; Wife: Good heavens!, Smith's Weekly, 2 December 1933, page 3. Several more were published in early 1934, but by this time cartoons signed with Miller's usual signature had begun to reappear in Smith's Weekly.For example (from Smith's Weekly, 10 February 1934): As It Was in the Beginning, page 20 (Syd Miller) and Musings of an Old-Fashioned Tyke, page 23 (Noël).

From October 1933 to March 1934 Miller collaborated with the journalist Thomas Dunbabin to produce a regular feature called Curiosities, published in Melbourne's The Herald newspaper. Each edition of Curiosities presented a set of interesting facts, mostly relating to Australia, alongside images relevant to the text drawn by Miller.Curiosities, The Herald (Melbourne), 21 October 1933, page 32; Curiosities, The Herald, 31 March 1934, page 15. Curiosities was similar in concept to Ripley's Believe It or Not which had begun to be syndicated in Australian newspapers from November 1932 after Robert Ripley visited Australia earlier that year.Incredible: But is True, The Sun (Sydney), 25 February 1932, page 15.Believe It or Not by Ripley, The Argus (Melbourne), 19 November 1932, page 7.