A late 19th century Thüringen composition Ally Sloper nodder, dressed as a school teacher with mortar board, bottle of alcohol in pocket and holding a birch, standing on wooden base with card lid from a box —11 ¼in. (28.5cm.) high (slight crazing and missing box base) - Ally Sloper is a fictional character of the British comic of the same name, first appearing in 1867, he is one of the earliest characters in comic strips. Red-nosed and blustery, an archetypal lazy schemer often found "sloping" through alleys to avoid his landlord and other creditors, he was created for the British magazine Judy by writer and fledgling artist Charles H. Ross, and inked and later fully illustrated by his French wife Émilie de Tessier.