How was Ally Sloper merchandised before modern comic licensing became common?

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King, Frank: Gasoline Alley — comic strip Thirteen panels from the comic strip *Gasoline Alley* by Frank King, 1921. It shows Walt Wallet feeding and then chasing the turkey that he and baby Skeezix have raised for Thanksgiving dinner.

Before the modern era of comic licensing, the character Ally Sloper—a scheming proletarian loafer developed by Marie Duval—was merchandised on commonplace objects in a manner that anticipated 20th-century practices.1

While modern licensing involves complex legal frameworks, Ally Sloper’s popularity in the late 19th century allowed the character to transcend his origins in the magazine Judy and separate albums to appear on a variety of everyday consumer goods, establishing an early precedent for the commercial exploitation of a comic strip character.1