The Grim Reaper—that black-coated, scythe-carrying personification of death—has appeared in over a hundred and four cartoons in The New Yorker since 1937. But where was he prior to that?

This episode looks at the history of the scythe-wielding skeletal form of the Grim Reaper. There are fewer images of Death personified than the scythe-wielding skeletal form of the Grim Reaper ...