I love it when I'm right! I looked at this and thought - the figures look like those in Mutt and Jeff.
They sure do.
Asthma Simpson the Village Queen
https://john-adcock.blogspot.com/2011/01/asthma-simpson-village-queen.html
The artist called himself 'Billy Liverpool'
And on the site above we read,
[Drew the bogus Mutt & Jeff around1915, then hired by Bud Fisher to ghost the real thing for over fifteen years, up to 1934. Thanks to Steven Rowe.]
Bogus Mutt and Jeff?
Anybody know what that was about?
Also, its likely that in the newspapers of the day, the Strip was printed at least twice as large as we have it here. Would have been a lot easier to read.
Cheers!
Link to the book:
Asthma Simpson the Village Queen