Toby Twirl Tourtel, an assistant editor of the "Daily Express". Tourtel devised Rupert Bear shortly after the end of World War I, in 1920, when the "Daily Express" was in competition with "The Daily Mail" and its then popular comic strip “Teddy Tail” (featuring a mouse called “Teddy Tail”), as well as with the comic strip “Pip, Squeak and Wilfred” (respectively, these are the names of a dog, penguin, and rabbit) in the "Daily Mirror". Each panel of Tourtel's comic strip story was accompanied by a narrative in rhymed verse. These are the very first ("Daily Express", 8 November 1920): The title
Kirksville Daily Express a number of rented building spaces for the first several years, in 1930 E. E. Swain constructed an art deco style building in downtown Kirksville. It, along with an addition constructed in 1964 to house an offset printer, continues to serve as the "Express" offices. Following Swain's death in 1972 ownership and operation of the newspaper passed to his son E. E. Swain, Jr. In 1990 the "Daily Express" was sold to American Publishing Company, although a Swain, E. E.'s grandson Tony, still remained as pressroom supervisor. Gatehouse Media (formerly Liberty Media Group) assumed operation of the newspaper in 1998.