Perspectives on Cartoons (August 2010)
Susan Kline, Cartoon Archivist
Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University
Later this year, the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) at Syracuse University will be wrapping up a grant project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) to process 189 collections of work by cartoonists. In the 1960s, then curator Martin Bush contacted dozens of cartoonists asking if they would like to donate their original artwork to Syracuse. However, over the last forty years, the resulting collections have remained minimally processed.
To reveal these “hidden collections”, SCRC applied for, and was awarded, an NHPRC detailed processing grant to complete a two year project involving the processing and description of these resources. The project has proven an exciting way to reveal the holdings of one of SCRC's larger collecting areas, which documents the medium of cartooning, particularly in the twentieth century. Cartoons are an especially accessible medium with nearly universal appeal. They hold the power to entertain while also providing social and political commentary. SCRC hopes the processing of these collections will attract scholars interested in exploring the medium of cartooning or studying the subjects depicted in the cartoons.
Spanning approximately 1,000 linear feet and amounting to tens of thousands of unique cartoons, SCRC’s 189 collections include primarily original artwork. However, selected collections also contain sketches, proofs, and correspondence. Excitingly much of this correspondence is in the form of letters from readers.
Generally, the cartoon collections at SCRC fall into two categories: comic strips and editorial cartoons. While the contents of cartoon collections at SCRC span the twentieth century and late nineteenth century, they are particularly strong in material from the 1950s and 1960s.
Artwork for original comic strips held at SCRC includes familiar titles such as Archie and Beetle Bailey, as well as material from Prince Valiant and Mutt and Jeff, which is often regarded as the first daily comic strip.
Our editorial cartoons document defining events of the twentieth century such as the Cold War, Vietnam War, and the presidencies of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, as well as localized issues related to the cartoonists' home papers. Included is work that was published in geographically diverse locations and projects positions along the political spectrum. Several Pulitzer Prize winners are represented, including Paul Conrad and Don Wright. Also of interest are sports cartoons, such as those by Bill Gallo of the New York Daily News.
While not all of the cartoonists remain well known today, the work of lesser known names reflects the moment in time in which it was created and remains valuable documentation of American society and culture.
The grant project commenced with a survey of the collections to determine the general scope and contents of each collection and possible preservation issues. The survey led to discoveries of material SCRC was unaware it had. Following the survey, very basic finding aids and MARC catalog records were made available online for each collection utilizing existing paper based finding aids (when they existed) and information gleaned from the survey.
With these initial finding aids and records in place, the processing and description phase began. The extent of prior processing has varied from collection to collection and has ultimately influenced the nature of what has been done to each collection during the project in terms of physical arrangement and description.
Biographical information obtained at the time of donation or initial processing has been confirmed and expanded utilizing specialized cartoon reference sources as well as some contributions of amateur scholars and fans, particularly in the form of blogs, which have proven very useful for describing lesser known comic strips.
The format has also required creativity in terms of storage and preservation. It was determined that comic strips, having distinctly unique dimensions, best fit into boxes that were custom made by an archival supplier. Other cartoons, generally ranging in size from 11”x14” to over 18”x 24”, have been relocated to newspaper boxes and occasionally odd sized items have been placed in map case drawers. Of concern, as well, has been the need to interleave editorial cartoons featuring charcoal and crayon shading, in order to prevent smudging.
Perhaps the most crucial aspect to the project has been the process of describing the cartoons so they may be of use to researchers. This process has provided challenges and opportunities for experimentation when it comes to working with visual materials. Description of the comic strip collections was carried out in a fairly straightforward manner with inventories of dates. The editorial cartoons, however, generated discussion about how to best communicate their subject matter while balancing the cartoonist's intent and what exactly is depicted in the artwork.
While clearly appreciated by researchers, item level descriptions have not been feasible, except in a few circumstances where typed lists (and therefore OCR scannable) already existed, due to the volume of original art and the project’s timeline. Instead, for editorial cartoons, SCRC has experimented with the EAD tag <index>, as a way to provide subject descriptions at the folder and box level. Carefully selected specific LCSH terms have been used to document the dominant people and subjects depicted in comic strips and editorial cartoons.
Another objective of the grant was to contribute to the Wikipedia articles for several dozen cartoonists. For cartoonists for which SCRC holds a large quantity of material, links to the respective finding aids have been added to their Wikipedia articles. In some cases biographical information in articles has been expanded using resources in the collections. SCRC's EAD finding aids are also indexed by Google. Because Wikipedia and Google are often the starting point for many casual (and serious) researchers (as well as comic art fans), promoting SCRC collections through these avenues will allow SCRC to reach more potential researchers. A final aspect of the project has been making other archivists, scholars and the public aware that SCRC is home to these unique collections through conference presentations and articles.
If you are interested in learning more about the issues involving these collections and cartoons in general, plan on attending session #508, Perspectives on Cartoons: Art, Archival Objects, Assets, at the Society of American Archivists annual meeting. For more information about SCRC, visit: http://www.scrc.syr.edu. For a list of finding aids for all the cartoonists see: http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/ead/subj_list_from_db.htm#cart
Images:
1. Sorting and processing of editorial cartoon artwork.
2. Custom made boxes to accommodate the unique dimensions of comic strip artwork.
3. Detail of original artwork for Roy Crane’s Captain Easy strip, August 20, 1933.
