William Timym – Wuff, Snuff & Tuff

Being an obsessive Trove and Australian Women’s Weekly browser, there have been many instances where I’ve come across the short, adorable comics, Wuff, Snuff & Tuff by Tim. Most of the time however I was already searching for something else and apart from a quick glance, I didn’t really pay careful attention to them. Today I finally looked closer and my eyes were opened to how cute, sweet and witty they are.

Wuff, Snuff & Tuff is a comic featuring the lives and adventures of three little puppies named (I’m sure you can guess it) Wuff, Snuff and Tuff. They were always printed as being by ‘Tim’ but the full name of their creator was actually William Timym (pronounced Tim). William was born in Austria in about 1901 and grew up in Vienna. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna before moving to England in 1938 to escape the country’s Nazi occupation.

William became well-known for his cartoons such as Wuff, Snuff & Tuff as well as Bengo the Boxer Puppy, Bleep and Booster, Humphrey, Sniff, The Boss and Caesar. Thanks to his education in Vienna, he was also a highly skilled fine artist and in the 70s he took on many commissions for lifelike portraits and sculptures.

A search on Google indicates that Wuff, Snuff & Tuff was not only a comic printed in media around the world but it also became printed in book format and was turned into various types of wooden puppets by Pelham Puppets.

The comics were often printed in The Australian Women’s Weekly as being ‘for the children’ but the innocent humour, sweetness and general theme of kindness makes them comics that all people (young and old) can enjoy and smile over.

Sources:

• 1954 ‘Wuff, Snuff & Tuff.’, The Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), 26 May, p. 37, viewed 24 January, 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51776000
• Information about William Timym obtained from: http://www.turnipnet.com/whirligig/tv/children/other/bengo.htm
• Information about William Timym obtained from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Timym
• 1961 ‘Wuff, Snuff & Tuff.’, The Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), 5 April, p. 69, viewed 24 January, 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51971214
• Information about the puppets obtained from Pelham Puppets Online (http://www.ppo.co.uk/bimbo/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=487:william-timym-creations&catid=9:licensed-characters).
• 1956 ‘FOR THE CHILDREN.’, The Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), 10 October, p. 49, viewed 24 January, 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51392280
• 1968 ‘FOR THE CHILDREN.’, The Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), 13 March, p. 86, viewed 24 January, 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44798589
• 1967 ‘FOR THE CHILDREN.’, The Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), 11 January, p. 60, viewed 24 January, 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article45649107
• 1961 ‘FOR THE CHILDREN.’, The Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), 3 May, p. 65, viewed 24 January, 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47491626