The ‘Puck – The Comic Weekly’ Publicity Notepad was released by the San Francisco Examiner in San Francisco, USA in 1951.

The San Francisco Examiner, founded in 1863, stands as a storied pillar of San Francisco’s journalistic heritage. Initially launched as a pro-Confederacy publication, the paper was rechristened The Daily Examiner in 1865 following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the subsequent destruction of its offices by an enraged mob. In 1880, mining magnate George Hearst acquired the paper, later passing it to his son, William Randolph Hearst. The younger Hearst revolutionized the Examiner, making it a powerhouse of yellow journalism and featuring illustrious writers such as Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, and Jack London.

Dubbed the ‘Monarch of the Dailies’, the Examiner flourished under the Hearst Corporation’s banner. The 1906 earthquake necessitated a rebuilding, resulting in the creation of the iconic Hearst Building.

From 1931 to the 1970s, the Examiner’s Sunday comic section, ‘Puck – The Comic Weekly,’ delighted readers nationwide, showcasing popular King Features Syndicate’s comic strips like the Phantom which made its debut in 1950. Below is an example from March 1951, with the front page shown, plus an internal page featuring the Phantom comic strip as illustrated by Wilson McCoy.

In the fiercely competitive mid-20th century, the Examiner battled the San Francisco Chronicle for dominance, eventually leading to a Joint Operating Agreement in 1965. This collaboration continued until 2000, when the Hearst Corporation sold the Examiner to the politically influential Fang family. The paper transitioned to a free daily format in 2003.

Philip Anschutz’s Clarity Media Group acquired the Examiner in 2004, pioneering a compact, quick-read format that emphasized local news. The Examiner changed hands again in 2011, becoming part of the San Francisco Newspaper Company LLC, and was subsequently acquired by Clint Reilly Communications in December 2020.

Under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Carly Schwartz, the Examiner today remains a vital voice in the Bay Area, blending its rich history with innovative approaches to contemporary journalism.

To promote the San Francisco Examiner and its renowned comic section, Puck, owned by Hearst Corporation produced an exquisite notepad measuring 9.5” x 6.5” and featuring 24 unlined pages. The backing board of this notepad displayed in black print test a collage of comic strip character names, news lineups, and event topics, effectively highlighting the newspapers diverse and engaging content. It remains a matter of speculation whether this charming notepad was exclusively distributed within editorial departments or also made available for sale at newsstands.

Amongst the comic strip characters noted by the San Francisco Examiner is the Phantom, which was published in the ‘Puck – The Comic Weekly’ comic section. The other comic strip characters noted are Snuffy Smith, Jiggs, Blondie, Flash Gordon, Prince Valiant, Donald Duck, Buck Rogers, Mandrake the Magician and Brick Bradford. Many more comic strip characters were published in ‘Puck – The Comic Weekly’ besides those noted on the Publicity Notepad.

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Thank you Christopher Smith for assisting with images and information.