Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Darling, Jay N. (Jay Norwood), 1876-1962.
Title:	Jay Darling Collection
Inclusive Dates:	1926-1945
Quantity:	2.8 linear ft.
Abstract:	Three pieces of artwork, eight sketches and newspaper clippings from the Pulitzer Prize-winning American cartoonist.
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

Jay N. "Ding" Darling (1876-1962) was an American editorial cartoonist, wild life artist and conservationist.

Born on October 21, 1876, Jay Norwood Darling grew up in Michigan and Indiana before his family moved to Sioux City, Iowa. As a child, Darling was interesting in drawing and art but did not consider it for a career. Darling spent a year at Yankton College in South Dakota (1894) and enrolled at Beloit College the following year where he drew caricatures for the college yearbook. Darling left Beloit but returned to graduate in 1900.

Darling worked at the Sioux City Journal for six years as a reporter and he also drew caricatures and cartoons for the paper. In 1906, Darling took a job with the Des Moines Register and Leader where he had more artistic freedom. He spent two years in New York City pursuing syndicated cartooning but returned to the Des Moines Register and Leader in 1913. After another stint in New York City, he returned yet again to the Des Moines Register and Leader in 1936 and retired in 1949.

A prolific cartoonist, Darling won a Pulitzer Prize in 1924 for his cartoon “In Good Old USA” and again in 1943 for his cartoon “What a Place for a Waste Paper Salvage Campaign”. He was also a strong proponent of conservation and helped found the Cooperative Wildlife Research Center at Iowa State University. He studied the migration of waterfowl and through an appointment by President Franklin D. Roosevelt served for a brief period as the chief of the U.S. Biological Survey. In this role, he helped to expand the nation's wildlife refuge system and was instrumental in starting the Duck Stamp program. He also helped establish the National Wildlife Federation and was elected its president in 1936.

Jay N. "Ding" Darling suffered a stroke in 1961 which left him partially paralyzed and he died on February 12, 1962. His conservation work is remembered through the J.N. Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, Florida which was established in 1965.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Jay Darling Collection contains materials that were transferred from the James Earle and Laura Gardin Fraser Papers at Special Collections Research Center. The collection is divided into 2 series: Artwork and Clippings. Artwork contains two original drawings, one print of a drawing and eight sketches. Of particular interest the artwork's connection to American sculptors James and Laura Fraser- "The Peace Hunters" and "Quail" are inscribed to the Frasers and one sketch was drawn on a piece of letterhead bearing Laura Gardin Fraser's name and address.

Clippings contains a folder with four clippings about Darling's career and approximately 500 newspaper clippings of his editorial cartoons that were syndicated in the New York Herald Tribune during 1930, 1934-1939 and 1942-1945.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

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

See the James Earle and Laura Gardin Fraser Papers for correspondence and photographs related to Jay Darling.

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

Corporate Bodies

Associated Titles

Subjects

Places

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Jay Darling Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the James Earle and Laura Gardin Fraser Papers, 1972.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: MD
Date: 27 Oct 2008
Revision history: 27 Oct 2008 - converted to EAD (MD); 12 Nov 2009 - added detailed inventory, scope and bio (SK); 23 Oct 2017 - minor formatting cleanup (MRC)

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Inventory

	Artwork
Oversize 1		The Peace Hunters 1939 17 1/4" x 22 ½"
			depicts Hitler and Stalin hunting a large bear while Czechoslovakia, Poland and Austria dangle from the barrel of Hitler's gun and Stalin has Poland and Estonia in his grasp; a dove labeled "peace" is in the foreground inscribed to "James E. Fraser who is always tops with me- Jay Darling" ink, pencil and blue watercolor on illustration board
Oversize 1		Register the Aliens 1926 21 3/4" x 27 ½"
			depicts immigrants coming across the United States' borders and includes a sign "500,000 illegal aliens a year"; Uncle Sam watches with a sign that says "restricted immigration" while an unidentifiable figure watches from the other direction ink on paper
Oversize 1		Quail 1930 20 ½" x 25 3/4"
			depicts 11 quail in flight inscribed to "Laura and Jimmy with best wishes for a Merry Christmas, please don't take these pictures seriously I know their failures but some day if I keep w/ it I may make a good one." print of a drawing
Box 1		Sketches undated (8 items)
			includes several sketches of Ku Klux Klan members under the title "Fanatical Riders", as well as a sketch of an eagle and a figure on a horse pencil and crayon on paper (including a piece of Laura Gardin Fraser's stationary)

	Clippings
Box 1		Clippings about Jay Darling's career undated (4 items)
Box 1		Editorial cartoons 1930, 1934-1939, 1942-1945

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