Mary Tourtell

Mary Tourtel was an English artist and creator of Rupert Bear. Born as Mary Caldwell, Tourtel was raised in an artistic family and daughter of a stained glass artist and stone mason. She grew up studying art, in particular animal drawings, and became a children's book illustrator. She eventually married an editor of The Daily Express newspaper, Herbert Tourtel.

The first book about Rupert Bear by Mary Tourtel was The Adventures of the little lost bear, reprinted from the Daily Express in 1921 and published by T. Nelson. The Daily Express was in competition with The Daily Mail and its comic strip; Teddy Tail, and The Daily Mirror's Pip, Squeak and Wilfrid.

Rupert Bear was first published as a nameless character in a strip titled Little Lost Bear on November 8, 1920. It was published as two cartoons a day with a short story underneath, the strip featured a brown bear until the Express cut inking expenses and made Rupert's colour white.