Editing Winsor McCay (section)

===Early career (1889–1903)===
McCay spent two years in Chicago{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=38}} after making his way there sometime in 1889 with his friend Mort Touvers.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=33}} He traded art techniques there with painter [[Jules Guérin (artist)|Jules Guérin]], whom he met at a boarding house in which he lodged, and did artwork for posters and pamphlets at the National Printing and Engraving Company.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=34}}

[[File:Philippine-American War.png|thumb|upright=0.8|left|alt=A black-and-white political cartoon. Uncle Sam (representing the United States) gets entangled with rope around a tree labeled "Imperialism" while trying to subdue a bucking colt or mule labeled "Philippines" while a figure representing Spain walks off over the horizon.|McCay did editorial cartoons early in his career (1899).]]

In 1891, McCay moved to [[Cincinnati]], where he did more dime museum work{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=38}} while living in a boarding house near his workplace. He spent nine years making posters and other advertisements for the Kohl & Middleton Dime Museum,{{efn|The Kohl & Middleton Dime Museum was previously called the Vine Street Dime Museum.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=38}} }}{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=38}} and later Heck and Avery's Family Theater (1896), Avery's New Dime Museum (1898), and Will S. Heck's Wonder World and Theater (1899){{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=43}} on [[Vine Street, Cincinnati|Vine Street]]. At the museum in 1896, a demonstration of [[Thomas Edison]]'s [[Vitascope]] was given, which was likely McCay's first exposure to the young medium of film.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=40}} He also did work during this time for Ph. Morton's printing and lithography company. McCay's ability to draw quickly with great accuracy drew crowds when he painted advertisements in public.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|pp=43–44}}

His first year at Kohl & Middleton, McCay was smitten when Maude Leonore Dufour walked into the dime museum with her sister while he was painting. He rushed to his studio to change into a custom-tailored suit, returned, and introduced himself to the fourteen-year-old Maude.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=45}} Soon they [[Elopement (marriage)|eloped]] in [[Covington, Kentucky]].{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=46}}

McCay began working on the side for the ''[[Cincinnati Commercial Tribune]]'', where he learned to draw with a [[dip pen]] under the tutelage of ''Commercial Tribune'' art room manager Joseph Alexander. In 1898, he accepted a full-time position there.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=47}} His many illustrations for the paper displayed his bold use of perspective and mastery of [[Hatching|hatchwork]]. Soon after, he began [[Freelancer|freelancing]] for the humor magazine ''[[Life (magazine)#1883 humor and general interest magazine|Life]]'' as well.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=48}}

In 1900, McCay accepted a position with a higher salary at ''[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]''. There, he produced a prolific number of drawings, did some reporting, and became head of the art department. In his drawings, he began using line thickness to indicate depth, and used thick lines to surround his characters in an [[Art Nouveau]]-inspired style that became a trademark of his work.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=57}}