Mary Tourtel was created in 1920, at a time when the "Express" was in competition with "The Daily Mail" and its then popular comic strip "Teddy Tail", as well as the strip "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred" in "The Daily Mirror". The then news editor of the "Express", Herbert Tourtel, was approached with the task of producing a new comic strip to rival those of the "Mail" and "Mirror" and immediately thought of his wife Mary, already an established author and artist. Rupert Bear was the result and was first published as a nameless character in a strip titled "Little Lost Bear" on
Daily Express Building, Manchester at the Daily Express during the 1930s. During this decade the "Daily Express" was the most circulated newspaper in the world with sales of up to 2.25 million. Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, owner of the "Daily Express", commissioned three buildings in London, Manchester and Glasgow which would help accommodate this growth. Beaverbrook stipulated that all three buildings should be of the highest architectural quality and assigned renowned engineer Sir Owen Williams to assist in the delivery of these three buildings. The London building opened in 1931, followed by the Glasgow building in 1937 and the Manchester building in 1939. Although