The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is a

research library A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects.(Young, 1983; p. 188) A research library will generally include an in-depth selection of materials on a particular topic or set of to ...

of American

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

s and comic art affiliated with the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...

library system in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

. Formerly known as the Cartoon Research Library and the Cartoon Library & Museum, it holds the world's largest and most comprehensive academic research facility documenting and displaying original and printed comic strips,

editorial cartoon A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine ...

s, and cartoon art. The museum is named after the Ohio cartoonist Billy Ireland.Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
/ref>NPR: Cartoon Library & Museum
/ref> Covering

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...

daily strip A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays. Bud Fisher's '' Mutt and Jeff'' is commonly regarded as the first dail ...

Sunday strip The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in most western newspapers, almost always in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies. The first US newspa ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

s, magazine

s, and sports cartoons, the collection includes 450,000 original cartoons, 36,000 books, 51,000 serial titles, and of manuscript materials, plus 2.5 million comic strip clippings and tear sheets.

History

The Cartoon Library began in 1977 when the Milton Caniff Collection was donated to Ohio State and delivered to the School of Journalism, which was headed by Lucy Shelton Caswell, who became the Milton Caniff Reading Room's first curator. Interviewed by Matt Tauber, Caswell detailed the museum's origins and how she became involved: From two classrooms off the back hallway of the Journalism Building in 1977, the collection expanded to three classrooms and became part of the University Libraries. By 1989, the three classrooms were filled, and the library moved into a larger space, eventually requiring the use of off-site storage as the collection continued to expand. (At that point, the facility was named the Cartoon Research Library.) In 1992,

United Media United Media was a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, that operated from 1978 to 2011. It syndicated 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its ...

donated the Robert Roy Metz Collection of 83,034 original cartoons by 113 cartoonists. In 1998, the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection was acquired from its director,

Bill Blackbeard William Elsworth Blackbeard (April 28, 1926 – March 10, 2011), better known as Bill Blackbeard, was a writer-editor and the founder-director of the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, a comprehensive collection of comic strips and cartoon art f ...

, giving the library the largest collection of newspaper comic-strip tear sheets and clippings in the world. Six semitrailer trucks transported this collection from California to Ohio. In 2007,

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

donated its proof-sheet collection, consisting of over two million strips (a duplicate set was donated to Michigan State University's Comic Art Collection). In June 2008, the collection of the

International Museum of Cartoon Art The National Cartoon Museum was an American museum dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of cartoons, comic strips and animation. It was the brainchild of Mort Walker, creator of ''Beetle Bailey''. The museum opened in 1974, ...

(more than 200,000 originals with an estimated value of $20 million) was transferred to the Cartoon Library & Museum. Founded in 1973 by cartoonist

Mort Walker Addison Morton Walker (September 3, 1923 – January 27, 2018) was an American comic strip writer, best known for creating the newspaper comic strips ''Beetle Bailey'' in 1950 and '' Hi and Lois'' in 1954. He signed Addison to some of his strip ...

, the IMCA collection includes a wide variety of original cartoon art (comic strips, comic books, animation, editorial, advertising, sport, caricature, greeting cards, graphic novels, and illustrations), display figures, toys, and collectibles, plus works on film and tape, CDs, and DVDs. The 2009 exhibition ''From Yellow Kid to Conan: American Cartoons from the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection'' was held at the Cartoon Library and Museum from June to August. In September 2009, it was announced that the Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved a new name, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, in recognition of a $7 million gift from an anonymous donor to support the renovation of Sullivant Hall. The museum was named in honor of

William Addison Ireland William Addison Ireland (1880 – May 29, 1935), a native of Chillicothe, Ohio, was a self-taught cartoonist well known throughout Ohio. The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum was named in his honor in 2009. Career Shortly after his 1898 hi ...

(1880 – May 29, 1935), a self-taught cartoonist (and native of Chillicothe, Ohio) well known throughout Ohio as Billy Ireland. A native of Chillicothe, Ohio, Billy Ireland was a self-taught cartoonist who was hired by ''The Columbus Dispatch'' shortly after his 1898 high school graduation. Until his death, Ireland worked in Columbus for the ''Dispatch'', drawing both editorial cartoons and his Sunday feature, ''The Passing Show''. His work was exhibited by the museum in 2003.

Former names

* Milton Caniff Reading Room, 1977 * Library for Communication and Graphic Arts * Cartoon, Graphic, and Photographic Arts Research Library * Cartoon Research Library, 1989 * Cartoon Library and Museum, July 2009 * Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, September 2009

Collections and archives

The Milton Caniff Collection consists of 12,000 original artworks by Caniff, 85 boxes of memorabilia, and more than 450 boxes of manuscript materials, fan letters, and business records. As the museum's collection of original art and manuscripts evolved and expanded, it added the Nick Anderson Collection, the

Jim Borgman James Mark Borgman (born February 24, 1954) is an American cartoonist. He is known for his political cartoons and his nationally syndicated comic strip '' Zits''. He was the editorial cartoonist at ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' from 1976 to 2008. B ...

Collection, the

Eldon Dedini Eldon Dedini (June 29, 1921 – January 12, 2006) was an American cartoonist whose work appeared in ''Esquire'', ''The New Yorker'', ''Playboy'' and elsewhere. Life Dedini was born in King City, California, on June 29, 1921; his father was a ...

Collection, the

Edwina Dumm Frances Edwina Dumm (1893 – April 28, 1990) was a writer-artist who drew the comic strip '' Cap Stubbs and Tippie'' for nearly five decades; she is also notable as America's first full-time female editorial cartoonist. She used her middle name f ...

Collection, the

Woody Gelman Woodrow Gelman (1915 – February 9, 1978) was a publisher, cartoonist, novelist and an artist-writer for both animation and comic books. As the publisher of Nostalgia Press, he pioneered the reprinting of vintage comic strips in quality hardcove ...

Collection of

Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–14; 1924–26) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he worke ...

cartoons, the

Walt Kelly Walter Crawford Kelly Jr. (August 25, 1913 – October 18, 1973), commonly known as Walt Kelly, was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip '' Pogo''. He began his animation career in 1936 at Walt Disney Studios, con ...

Collection, the collection of agent Toni Mendez, and the

Bill Watterson William Boyd Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is a retired American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip '' Calvin and Hobbes'', which was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson stopped drawing ''Calvin and Hobbes'' at the end of 1995, w ...

Collection. The

Bud Blake Julian W. BlakeSocial Security Death Index
listing for Blake, Julian W.,

from 1954 to 1965, plus 10,000 daily and Sunday ''

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

'' originals. Comic-book collections include the

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

Collection; the

Jay Kennedy Jay Malcolm Kennedy (April 18, 1956 – March 15, 2007) was an American editor and writer. The author of ''The Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide'', he was a long-time editor at King Features Syndicate, eventually rising to the posi ...

Collection has more than 9,500 underground comic books. The museum's collection includes work by

Anne Mergen Anne Briardy Mergen (August 19, 1906 – July 3, 1994) was an editorial cartoonist who lived in Miami, Florida. Hired by the '' Miami Daily News'' in 1933, she was one of the first woman editorial cartoonists in the United States,

, who was the only female editorial cartoonist in the United States for much of her career. Archival professional records include the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists,

National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

, Newspaper Features Council, and the Cartoonists Guild. A biographical registry of cartoonists contains files for more than 5,000 cartoonists and clipping files organized by cartoon-related subjects.

Exhibitions

The library sponsors programs related to cartoon art by staging exhibitions, lending for exhibits elsewhere, and hosting speakers, seminars, workshops and conferences. Some physical exhibitions have been made available as digital exhibitions. The Festival of Cartoon Art has been held triennially since 1983. Featuring two days of lectures, panel discussions, exhibitions, and receptions, it attracts cartoonists, comics scholars, fans, collectors, and students. Leading cartoonists have spoken at the festival, including

Lynda Barry Linda Jean Barry (born January 2, 1956) is an American cartoonist. Barry is best known for her weekly comic strip '' Ernie Pook's Comeek''. She garnered attention with her 1988 illustrated novel ''The Good Times are Killing Me'', about an inte ...

Milton Caniff Milton Arthur Paul Caniff (; February 28, 1907 – April 3, 1988) was an People of the United States, American cartoonist famous for the ''Terry and the Pirates (comic strip), Terry and the Pirates'' and ''Steve Canyon'' comic strips. Biography ...

Jules Feiffer Jules Ralph Feiffer (born January 26, 1929)''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107 is an American cartoonist and author, who was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 as North ...

Ben Katchor Ben Katchor (born November 19, 1951) is an American cartoonist and illustrator best known for the comic strip '' Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer''. He has contributed comics and drawings to ''The Forward'', ''The New Yorker,'' ''Metropo ...

, Patrick Oliphant, Jeff Smith,

Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel '' Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines '' Arcade'' and '' R ...

Garry Trudeau Garretson Beekman Trudeau (born July 21, 1948) is an American cartoonist, best known for creating the ''Doonesbury'' comic strip. Trudeau is also the creator and executive producer of the Amazon Studios political comedy series ''Alpha House''. ...

, and

Curators and Staff

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library Archive Hallway

Caswell remained as curator from 1977 to 2010. She is author of several books on cartooning, including ''Illusions: Ethnicity in American Cartoon Art'' (Ohio State Libraries, 1992) and '' Arnold Roth: Free Lance'' (Fantagraphics, 2001). Jenny E. Robb became the museum's new curator on January 1, 2011, following the December 31, 2010, retirement of Caswell, who returned as curator of special projects in March 2011. Before arriving at Ohio State in 2005, Robb was curator of the

Cartoon Art Museum The Cartoon Art Museum (CAM) is a California art museum that specializes in the art of comics and cartoons. It is the only museum in the Western United States dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of all forms of cartoon art. The permanen ...

in San Francisco for five years. She has master's degrees in history and museum studies from Syracuse University. Wendy Pflug joined the staff as associate curator in December 2011. Associate Curator and Assistant Professor Caitlin McGurk, who started as a Visiting Curator in February 2012, manages the libraries outreach efforts, including instruction, exhibits, tours, and social media. Other staffers include Assistant Curators Susan Liberator and Marilyn Scott."Who Runs the Cartoon Library?"
/ref>

Books and publications

In May 2010, the Ohio State University Press announced Studies in Comics and Cartoons, a series of books edited by Caswell and Jared Gardner, associate professor in the Department of English. Books published in this series will focus on comics and graphic literature with monographs and edited collections covering the history of comics and cartoons from the editorial cartoon and early sequential comics of the 19th century through contemporary international comics and online comics. In 2017, the Ohio State University Press began publishing ''Inks'', a new journal for the Comics Studies Society. This journal is published triannually, and "features scholarly research on sequential art, graphic narrative, and cartooning.

Sullivant Hall Location

Expansion for the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum included the renovation of historic Sullivant Hall located on High Street adjacent to the

Wexner Center for the Arts The Wexner Center for the Arts is the Ohio State University's "multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art". The Wexner Center opened in November 1989, named in honor of the father of Limit ...

. The facility increased the library's space from to more than . It features a reading room for researchers, three museum-quality galleries, and expanded storage space with state-of-the-art environmental and security controls. In May 2009, Jean Schulz, widow of Charles M. Schulz, made a donation of $1 million with a promise of a matching grant if more funds were raised for the renovations. Her challenge was that she would provide an additional gift of $2.5 million if Ohio State raised the same amount from other sources to reach a $6 million total. Cartoonist

Bil Keane William Aloysius "Bil" Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011) was an American cartoonist most notable for his work on the newspaper comic ''The Family Circus''. It began in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Kean ...

and his family answered the Schulz Challenge with a $50,000 gift. The $20.6 million project was completed in 2013, with Sullivant Hall housing both the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum and Ohio State's Department of Dance.

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum lobby

Awards

* In 2011, Lucy Caswell was honored with the Silver T-Square Award from the

Online gallery

Select collections have been digitized and are available as part of the library's Digital Exhibits collection.

References

External links

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Blog

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum official site

Bruce Canwell visits the Museum

Video: P. Craig Russell at the Museum

Explore the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Art Database

Cartoon Topic Files

Michigan State University Comic Art Collection

San Francisco Academy of Comic Art collection: Comic features, 1894-1996

{{DEFAULTSORT:Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum 1977 establishments in Ohio Art museums established in 1977 Art museums and galleries in Ohio Cartooning museums Comics-related organizations Libraries established in 1977 Libraries in Ohio Mass media museums in the United States Museums in Columbus, Ohio Ohio State University University museums in Ohio University District (Columbus, Ohio)

History

Former names

Collections and archives

Exhibitions

Curators and Staff

Books and publications

Sullivant Hall Location

Awards

Online gallery

See also

References

External links