George Smith ranked 14th in cartoon sales 1950.

Selling cartoons to magazines in the 1950s was extremely competitive and difficult, characterized by a high volume of submissions and a very low acceptance rate, even for established artists. 

The Process

The typical submission process involved a weekly "rounds" system, where cartoonists would go in person to various magazines' offices to drop off their rough sketches (roughs) for review by the cartoon editors. 

Submissions: Cartoonists would submit batches of 10 to 15 ideas at a time. Editors would review the roughs and, if interested, select some for purchase.

"Finishes": If a cartoon was selected, the artist would then create a finalized drawing (a "finish") and send it in.

Payment and Publication: Once purchased, a cartoon might not be published for weeks, months, or even years. The market only wanted non-published cartoons, so each drawing only had one chance to earn money. 

Key Challenges

High Competition: Hundreds of cartoonists were vying for limited space in magazines.

Low Success Rate: An established cartoonist might only sell 1 cartoon for every 20 they drew. Aspiring cartoonists faced an even greater challenge.

Persistence Required: Editors often waited to see if a new artist would consistently submit high-quality work before committing to a purchase. Many successful cartoonists endured years of rejection before their first sale.

Market Saturation: The mid-century was a boom period for magazines, with many titles like The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, and Look using numerous cartoons to break up text, but this also meant many artists were competing for those spots.

Low Pay (for many): While top magazines paid well, many smaller "gag" magazines (e.g., CARtoons, Army Laffs) paid very little per cartoon, requiring artists to sell a high volume to make a living. 

In essence, a cartoonist needed immense talent, a relentless work ethic (producing many ideas daily), persistence in the face of constant rejection, and a bit of luck to succeed in the crowded 1950s market.

    

The top 25 cartoonists in sales for 1950 were: Don Tobin, with 93 sales, Mort Walker with 87, Ted Key with 81, Chon Day with 78, Tom Henderson with 68; tying for 6th place were Clyde Lamb, George Wolfe, Lew Follette and the Berenstains, with 59 sales each; 7th place, Ray Helle with 58; tied for 8th place, Hank Ketcham and Stan Hunt with 57 sales; then Irwin Caplan with 55, Bill King with 54; 11th place, a three-way tie, with Virgil Partch, Syverson and Walter Goldstein selling 53 gags each; Reamer Keller with 46 okays, Martha Blanchard with 44; 14th place was another three-way tie, with George Smith, Gardner Rea and Kate Osann selling 42 each; Mel Lazarus with 41, Dick Cavalli with 38, Ned Hilton with 34; 18th place was a four-way tie with Jeff Keate, Ben Roth, Salo Roth and Larry Harris selling 33 to the major markets; 19th place was held by Al Kaufman and Charles Pearson with 31 okays; Mary Gibson with 29 sales, Gus Lundberg with 28, Al Ross with 27, Herb Williams with 24, John Dempsey with 23, and Corka with 22 okays.