Portrait of Herbert Morrison
Ralph Sallon was born Rachmiel David Zelon into a Jewish family in Sheps, Poland 9 December 1899, and came with them to England in 1904, when he was four years old, settling in Whitechapel. At the age of 14, he spent one term at Hornsey School of Art, then served with the Pioneer Corps during the First World War. Sallon began his career in Durban, South Africa, where he worked for the Natal Mercury. He returned to London after two years and studied at St Martin’s School of Art, then became a regular cartoonist with the Jewish Chronicle (a position he held until 1930). During the Second World War, he served with the Jewish Battalion and afterwards worked freelance for papers including the Daily Herald (until 1948), and the Daily Mirror (until 1965). He also worked alongside German-Jewish émigré cartoonist Victor ‘Vicky’ Weisz on the Daily Mail. His work was shown alongside fellow cartoonists Joss, Ross, Walter Trier, Vicky, Victoria and Mark Wayner at a Ben Uri exhibition of Cartoons and Caricatures in 1950. Ralph Sallon was awarded the MBE in 1977 and died in Hertfordshire, England on 29 October 1999.
