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Eugene Craig Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Craig, Eugene.
Title: Eugene Craig Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1946-1970
Bulk Dates: 1958-1968
Quantity: 14 linear ft.
Abstract: Over 1600 original editorial cartoons originally published in the News-Sentinel (1946-1949), Brooklyn Eagle (1951-1954), and Columbus Dispatch (1952-1970) and three American Red Cross posters.
Language: English
Repository: Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Library
222 Waverly Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
http://scrc.syr.edu

Biographical History

Eugene Craig (1916-1984) was an American editorial cartoonist.

Eugene Craig was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on September 5, 1916. His father worked as a professional mural painter. Although forced to write with his right hand while in school, Craig continued to draw with his left hand.

After graduating from high school, Craig went to work at the News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1951 Craig took a job with the Brooklyn Eagle and in 1955 left for the Columbus Dispatch. In addition to drawing four to seven editorial cartoons a week, Craig also drew the color gag cartoon, Forever Female. In 1981, Craig left the Dispatch.

The Freedoms Foundation presented Craig with several awards including their top honor and Craig was also selected to design the postage stamp commemorating the Battle of Brooklyn. His work appeared in the Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year series. Craig was a member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and the National Cartoonists Society.

Craig died on March 18, 1984 at his Winchester, Ohio home following lung cancer.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Eugene Craig Papers contain primarily original editorial cartoons but also several printed posters.

Cartoons (1946-1970) is comprised of approximately 1,637 pieces of original artwork for editorial cartoons. The cartoons are from Craig's time at three different newspapers: the News-Sentinel (1946-1949), Brooklyn Eagle (1951-1954), and Columbus Dispatch (1958-1970). The cartoons are divided by newspaper and arranged chronologically (approximately 1,201 cartoons). However, at the end of the series there are three boxes of undated cartoons (436 items) that are arranged in alphabetical order by caption.

Many Brooklyn Eagle cartoons address New York City’s transportation needs. In his later work, Craig regularly commented on the Vietnam War in many cartoons, however, little in this particular collection addresses ant-war protests and other demonstrations. Craig often used imagery of the Vietnam War as a metaphor for domestic problems and political elections. Also of interest is Craig’s attention to the issue of rapid, worldwide population growth and food shortages.

Craig used human figures to represent the cities in which he worked. Father Knick portrayed New York City and Christopher Columbus stood in for city of Columbus. Very detailed facial features can bee seen in Craig's style of caricature. Craig's blocky signature for the Dispatch differs from his signature on earlier works which was accented by a large "C".

The name of the newspaper typically appears on the Brooklyn Eagle cartoons (stamped on the back in red ink) and the News-Sentinel cartoons (written on the back in ink). Some work for the Dispatch has a stamp on the front with Craig’s name and the Dispatch’s address. Dates appear in several formats. The News-Sentinel work typically has a string of numbers representing the date under Craig’s signature. Some works have stamped engraver’s dates on the back. Many of the Dispatch cartoons contain a sticker for Dispatch Features. Remnants of production notes stuck on the back of the Dispatch cartoons are present. Dates appear in pen or pencil.

The artwork varies in size, but generally measures 11"x14" to 13"x16". Craig worked primarily with ink and crayon on illustration board but there are several cartoons that were drawn exclusively in ink without crayon shading.

Printed material contains five undated posters (three separate designs) designed by Craig for the American Red Cross featuring Christmas scenes, urging people to give blood. These were printed with green ink on white paper and measure 12"x 16".

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Arrangement of the Collection

Original artwork is arranged in chronological order followed by three boxes of undated cartoons which are arranged in alphabetical order by caption.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on this material

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has collections of over one hundred cartoonists. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Craig, Eugene.
DiSalle, Michael V. (Michael Vincent), 1908-1981 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Gaulle, Charles de, 1890-1970 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Lausche, Frank John, b. 1895 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Mao, Zedong, 1893-1976 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Rhodes, James A. (James Allen), 1909-2001 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Corporate Bodies

American Red Cross -- Posters.
Democratic Party (U.S.) -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ) -- Caricatures and cartoons.
United States. Congress. -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Associated Titles

Brooklyn eagle.
Columbus dispatch.
News-Sentinel.

Subjects

American wit and humor, Pictorial.
Caricatures and cartoons -- Fort Wayne (Ind.)
Caricatures and cartoons -- New York (N.Y.)
Caricatures and cartoons -- Ohio -- Columbus.
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States.
Cartoonists -- United States.
Civil rights movements -- United States -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Cold War -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Editorial cartoons -- Columbus (Ohio)
Editorial cartoons -- Fort Wayne (Ind.)
Editorial cartoons -- New York (N.Y.)
Editorial cartoons -- United States.
Elections -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Population -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Space Exploration -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Taxation -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
World politics -- 1945-1989 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Places

Ohio -- Politics and government -- 1951- -- Caricatures and cartoons.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Genres and Forms

Cartoons (humorous images)
Editorial cartoons.
Posters.

Occupations

Cartoonists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Eugene Craig Papers
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Library

Acquisition Information

Gift of Eugene Craig, 1966-1970.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: DB
Date: 13 Apr 1978
Revision history: 19 Mar 2007 - converted to EAD (MRC); 21 May 2010 - added bio, scope, inventory and index (SK)

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Inventory

Cartoons
Click here for a detailed inventory.
See below for an index to the cartoons.
News-Sentinel
Oversize 1 Sep 1946, Feb 1947, Oct 1947, Aug 1948, Mar-Apr 1949, Jul 1949, Sep-Dec 1949, undated
Brooklyn Eagle
Oversize 1 Jul 1951, Nov 1951, Jan-Dec 1952
Oversize 2 Jan-Feb 1953, Apr-Jun 1953, Aug 1953-Dec 1954, undated
Columbus Dispatch
Oversize 3 Jan 1955, Feb 1958, Apr 1958, Jun-Aug 1958, Apr-Jul 1959, circa 1959, Jul 1960-Apr 1961, Jun-Oct 1961, Dec 1961, 1961, circa 1961
Oversize 4 Feb-Aug 1962, Jan 1963, Mar 1963, May 1963, Jul-Dec1963
Oversize 5 Jan-Sep 1964
Oversize 6 Oct 1964-Oct 1965
Oversize 7 Nov 1965-Apr 1966
Oversize 8 May-Oct 1966
Oversize 9 Nov 1966-Mar 1967, circa 1967
Oversize 10 Apr-Oct 1967
Oversize 11 Nov 1967-Apr 1968
Oversize 12 May-Jul 1968, Sep-Dec 1968, Mar-Apr 1969, Sep 1969, Apr-May 1970
Oversize 13 A-G undated (99 items)
Oversize 14 H-O undated (137 items)
Oversize 15 P-Y undated (101 items)
Printed material
Oversize 12 American Red Cross posters undated 12" x 16"

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Index to cartoons

The following is a list of predominant people, places and subjects appearing in the editorial cartoons in this collection. The list is not exhaustive. Some subjects may require you to browse with alternative terms.
B= Box,
AFL-CIO B1-B2, B12
Acheson, Dean B1
Ackley, Gardner B10
Adenauer, Konrad B4, B14-B15
Africa B7, B13
Agnew, Spiro T. B12
Alabama B13
Alaska B3-B4
Alcorn, Meade B3
Algeria B3-B4, B10, B15
Americans for Constitutional Action B6
Americans for Democratic Action B1, B6, B15
Angola B4
Appalachia B5, B13
Argentina B10, B13-B14
Asia B2, B6, B8
Australia B2
Baker, Bobby B5-B6
Barrymore, Ethel B3
Batista, Fulgencio B3
Baudouin I of Belgium B3
Bay of Pigs B6
Beatniks B14
Belgium B3
Ben Bella, Ahmed B10, B12
Benson, Ezra Taft B2
Beria, Lavrentiy B6
Berlin Wall B4-B5, B11, B13
Bliss, Ray B14
Bolivia B6
Borneo B4
Brazil B15
Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich B6-B14
Britain B1-B3, B5-B7, B9-B11, B13-B15
British Guiana B4
Brotherhood B1
Brown, Ted B4-B5
Buddhists B7-B8
Burma B2, B14
Cambodia B7, B11
Canada B7, B10, B15
Case, Clarence B6
Castro, Fidel B3-B5, B7, B9-B11, B13, B15
Castro, Raul B3
Celebrezze, Anthony J. B13
China SEE ALL BOXES
Chung Hee, Park B11
Churchill, Winston B1-B2, B6, B15
Clementis, Vladimír B1
Cobb, Ty B3
Cold War B4, B15
Coleman, William B5
Congo B3, B5-B7, B10, B14-B15
Congress SEE ALL BOXES
Constantine II of Greece B10
Coolidge, Calvin B11
Costa Rica B4, B13
Cuba B3-B9, B11, B13-B15
Cyprus B5-B6, B8
Czechoslovakia B1, B12
Darwin, Charles B3
De Sapio, Carmine B2
Democratic Party SEE ALL BOXES
Dewey, Thomas B2
Di Salle, Michael B3-B4, B6, B13-B15
Dirksen, Everett B12
Dominican Republic B8, B14-B15
DuBois Club B7
Dulles, John Foster B2
Egypt B10
Eichmann, Adolf B13
Eisenhower, Dwight B1-B3, B5-B6, B8, B13-B15
Eisenhower, Milton B3
El Salvador B4
En-lai, Chou B2, B9
Erhard, Ludwig B4, B6-B8
Eshkol, Levi B11
Europe B2, B4, B6, B8, B11, B13, B15
Farley, James A. B2
Ferguson Act (Ohio) B10-B11
Florida B1, B6
Formosa B2, B5, B9, B14
Fortas, Abe B12
France B1-B2, B4, B6-B7, B9, B12-B14
Franco, Francisco B1
Freeman, Orville B3, B10
Fulbright, J. William B5, B7, B10, B13
Gandhi, Indira B7-B9
Germany B1-B4, B6-B7, B9, B12-B15
Gilligan, John J. B11
Glenn, John B5
Goldberg, Arthur B3-B4, B7-B8, B10
Goldwater, Barry B3-B8, B13, B15
Goulart, João B5
Great Society B6-B11, B13-B15
Greece B5, B10, B14
Gromyko, Andrei B6, B13-B14
Gronouski, John A. B6
Gross, Harry B1
Guantanamo B5
Guatamala B2, B4, B13
Guevara, Che B12
Hall, Leonard B3
Halleck, Charles B3
Halley, Rudolph B1-B2
Hammarskjold, Dag B3, B14-B15
Harriman, W. Averell B2-B4
Hartke, Vance B11
Hatfield, Mark B11-B12
Hawaii B1, B3
Hemingway, Ernest B3
Hiroshima anniversary B6
Hitler, Adolph B6, B13
Ho Chi Minh B7-B14
Hodges, Luther H. B3
Hoffa, Jimmy B3, B5, B15
Home, Lord B5-B6
Honduras B4
Hoover Commission B4
Hoover, Herbert B2-B3, B6
House Un-American Activities Committee B13
Humphrey, Hubert B3-B5, B7-B8, B10-B12, B14-B15
Hungary B15
Impellitteri, Vincent R. B1-B2
India B2, B4-B5, B7, B9, B12-B15
Indiana B1
Indonesia B2, B5-B8, B14
International Longshoreman Association B2
Iran B1-B2
Israel B6-B12, B14
Italy B1-B2
Japan B1-B2, B6, B11-B12, B15
Javits, Jacob B2, B6, B8, B10
John Birch Society B13
Johnson, Lady Bird B14-B15
Johnson, Luci B. B8
Johnson, Lyndon Baines B4-B11, B13-B15
Jordan B9
Kai-Shek, Chiang B9
Kasa-Vubu, Joseph B3
Kefauver, Estes B1
Kennedy, Jacqueline B5
Kennedy, John F. B3-B5, B13-B15
Kennedy, Robert F. B4-B8, B10-B12, B14
Kennedy, Ted B8
Kentucky B8
Khan, Ayub B7, B13
Khanh, Nguyen B15
Khrushchev, Nikita B3-B7, B13-B15
Kiesinger, Kurt Georg B9-B10
Korean War B1-B2, B6, B10, B12
Kosygin, Alexey B6-B7, B9-B10, B12, B14
Kozlov, Alexander B13
Ku Klux Klan B6
Kuchel, Thomas B6
Ky, Nguyen Cao B7-B8, B10
LSD B9
Laniel, Joseph B2
Laos B2-B6, B11, B13-B15
Latin America B4-B15
Lausche, Frank B3-B5, B9-B11, B15
LeMay, Curtis B4, B14
Lincoln, Abraham B1-B3, B3, B14
Lodge Jr., Henry Cabot B2-B3, B5, B7, B10, B13
Long Island Railroad B1-B2
Lumumba, Patrice B3
MacArthur, Douglas B11
MacMillan, Harold B3-B4, B14-B15
Mahendra of Nepal B3
Malaya B2
Malaysia B4-B5
Malenkov, Georgy B1-B2, B6
Mansfield, Mike B5, B8-B9
Marshall Plan B8
McCarthy, Eugene B4-B5, B11-B12, B14
McCarthy, Joseph B2
McCarthyism B14
McElroy, Neil H. B4, B13-B14
McGranery, James B1
McNamara, Robert B3-B8, B10-B11, B14
Meany, George B12
Medicaid B8
Medicare B5-B7, B13
Metrakos, Alexander B4
Michigan B3
Middle East B3, B6, B9-B14
Midwest Resources Association B8
Miller, Ray B13
Mills, Wilbur B10-B11, B13
Mitterrand, François B7
Mock, Jerrie B5-B6
Molotov, Vyacheslav B2, B6, B15
Morse, Wayne B1
Morton, Thurston B. B3
Mossadegh, Mohammad B2
Muskie, Edmund B4
NATO B3, B6-B7, B9-B10
Nasser, Gamal Abdel B4-B6, B8, B10-B12, B14
National Farmer's Union B7
Nehru, Jawaharlal B4, B12-B13
Neipp, Morton B8
New Deal B1
New Frontier B3
New York (State) B1-B2, B6
New York City B1-B2
New Zealand B2
Nicaragua B4, B13
Nigeria B10
Nixon, Richard M. B3-B7, B9-B13, B15
North and South Korea B1-B2, B4, B7, B11-B12, B14
O'Neill, C. William B3, B13
Ohio B3-B15
Ohio State University B5, B12, B14
Ohio legislature B3, B5-B11, B13, B15
Pakistan B2, B7, B12-B15
Panama B4-B5, B14
Panama Canal B5-B7
Peace Corps B3
Pearson, Lester Bowles B7-B8
Percy, Charles H. B9, B11-B12
Perkins, Frances B13
Peron, Juan Domingo B15
Peru B10
Philippines B2
Pinay, Antoine B1
Poland B13
Pompidou, Georges B13
Quill, Michael B1-B2
Reagan, Ronald B9-B10, B12
Remón, Roberto Francisco Chiari B5
Republican Party SEE ALL BOXES
Reuther, Walter B5, B9, B12, B15
Rhodes, James B6, B9-B10, B12
Rhodesia B9
Ribicoff, Abraham B3-B4, B14
Rockefeller, Nelson B4-B5, B7, B9, B11-B15
Romania B12
Romney, George W. B5, B9-B12, B15
Roosevelt Jr., Franklin D. B2
Roosevelt, Eleanor B14
Roosevelt, Franklin D. B1
Rusk, Dean B3-B8, B11, B14
Russell, Richard B1, B8
Russia SEE ALL BOXES
Ruth, babe B3
Ryan, Joseph B2
SEATO B6, B10
Sato, Eisaku B6, B11-B12
Saud, Ibn B5
Saxbe, William B11-B12
Scranton, William B5, B7, B12
Selassie, Haile B3
Sensenbrenner, Maynard "Jack" B3, B9, B14
Shastri, Lal Bahadur B7
Shriver, Sargent B4, B7, B11
Smith, Margaret Chase B5, B7
South America B7, B13
Soviet Union B1-B3, B5-B15
Sparkman, John B1
Stalin, Joseph B1, B6, B13
Stassen, Harold B12, B15
Stevenson, Adlai E. B1-B4, B7, B14-B15
Sudan B6
Suez Canal B10, B13
Sukarno B4-B6, B14
Supreme Court B12-B14
Syria B4, B9, B14
Taft Hartley Act B1, B6
Taft, Jr., Robert B3, B11
Tanganyika B10
Taylor, Maxwell B7
Thailand B2, B9
Thant, U. B4, B7, B10, B14
The Beatles B14
Thieu, Nguyen Van B10-B12
Thurmond, Strom B9
Thuy, Xuan B12
Tibet B15
Tito, Josip Broz B4, B14-B15
Titov, Gherman B14
Tower, John B12-B13
Truman, Harry S. B1-B3, B8, B10, B15
Tunisia B15
Turkey B5
U.S. Constitution B6
U.S. Dollar B7, B9, B11, B13
U.S. Flag B8
U.S. Postal Service B6, B10
USS Pueblo B11-B12
Udall, Stewart B3
Ulbricht, Walter B6-B7
Underwood, Cecil B3
United Arab Republic B7-B8, B11
United Auto Workers B3, B10, B12
United Nations B1-B3, B5-B15
Venezuela B4, B10, B14
Vietnam War B4-B15
Wagner Jr., Robert F. B2, B4-B5, B7
Wallace, George B7, B11-B12, B14
War on Poverty B5-B6, B9
West Virginia B4
Wheeler, Earle B7
Williams, G. Mennen B3, B13, B15
Wilson, Harold B6, B8-B11
Wirtz, W. William B8
World Bank B1
World War I B10
World War II B6, B9-B10, B12-B13
Young, Steven B5, B7
Yugoslavia B2, B15
Zanzibar B5, B10
Zedong, Mao B2, B5-B7, B9-B11, B13, B15
alcohol sales B9
aluminum industry B7
anarchy B10
anti-missile systems B12
armed forces B2-B4, B6-B11, B13, B15
auto industry B3-B4, B8, B10
aviation B2, B5, B8
business B9
capitalism B6
charity B4, B6, B9-B10, B15
cities B7-B8
civil rights B3-B5, B7-B8, B13
coal industry B1
college students B6, B12
common market B3-B4, B9-B10, B12, B14
communism SEE ALL BOXES
consumers B7-B8, B15
corruption B1-B2, B14
crime B1-B3, B6, B8-B15
daylight savings time B9, B11-B12
de Gaulle, Charles B3-B7, B9-B15
defense industry B1
demonstrations B5-B7, B12
disarmament B6
diseases B7, B9
draft B2-B3, B6, B8, B14
drunk driving B10
economy B5, B14-B15
education B4-B5, B7-B11
elections SEE ALL BOXES
electoral college B12-B14
electricity needs B7
environment B6-B7
espionage B2-B3, B9, B13
farming B2, B4, B7, B10, B15
fashion B9
foreign aid B1-B2, B4-B8, B11-B14
foreign policy B5
free enterprise B15
free press B11
free speech B6
freedom B11
gambling B1-B2, B14
gold reserve B6
government spending B1, B6-B8, B10-B13
graduates B4, B8, B10, B14
health care B6
holidays B1, B3-B9, B11-B15
housing B1-B2, B5, B7, B11, B13-B14
industry (general) B5, B7, B12-B13
inflation B1-B3, B5-B10, B13, B15
insurance B6
judicial system B1, B9, B11-B12
juvenile delinquency B1-B2, B14-B15
labor B4, B7, B11, B15
law and order B5, B8
left and right extremists B6
liberty B9
marriage B1
minimum wage B6, B8
national debt B1, B3, B5, B9-B10, B13-B15
nature conservation B10
nuclear weapons B1-B8, B10-B12, B14-B15
oil B1, B11, B13
organized crime B1, B3, B10, B14-B15
patriotism B12, B14-B15
peace B1-B2, B4, B7-B9, B11-B15
piracy B3
police B8, B10, B12-B13
polio B3-B4
politics B4, B11
pollution B7, B9
population B3, B5-B10, B14-B15
poverty B7, B10-B11
press B3, B6, B13, B15
railroad industry B4-B5, B10, B14
refugees B6
religion B1, B3, B6, B9, B13
right to work law B6
riots B6, B8, B10-B12, B14
savings bonds B2
schools B4-B6, B14
science B6
shipping industry B2
smoking B1, B5, B10
social security B3
socialism B1, B15
space exploration B3-B11, B13-B14
sports B2-B6, B8, B14-B15
state fair B8, B10, B13
steel industry B1, B4, B8, B12, B15
stock market B7
strikes B1-B2, B6, B8, B10-B13, B15
taxes SEE ALL BOXES
television B2-B3
tourism B10
trade B1-B2, B5-B6, B12
traffic fatalities and accidents B1, B4, B8, B12-B15
transportation B1-B3, B5-B8, B11, B13-B14
unemployment B3, B6, B8, B10, B13
unions B2, B10, B12
universities B6-B7, B10
utility bills B4
vacation B1, B3, B6, B8, B14
voting B2, B5, B7, B10-B12, B15
war B3, B11
water safety B13
weapons B1, B6
weather B3-B15
welfare B6, B11, B13
women B3
youth B1, B3-B4, B8, B12, B14-B15

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