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Bill Sanders Cartoons

An inventory of his cartoons at Syracuse University

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Sanders, Bill.
Title: Bill Sanders Cartoons
Inclusive Dates: 1963-1967.
Quantity: 2 linear ft.
Abstract: 133 original editorial cartoons most of which were published in the Kansas City Star.
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

Bill Sanders (1930- ) is an American editorial cartoonist.

Bill Sanders was born in 1930 in Springfield, Tennessee. While attending Western Kentucky University (then Western Kentucky State College), he set a NCAA football record as a quarterback. He also received a B.A. in English while minoring in art under the direction of a watercolor artist. Sanders was pursued by the Cleveland Browns but Sanders was drafted from the Army ROTC into the Army where he was a lieutenant in the Korean War and also in Japan. While in the military he contributed to the Pacific version of Stars and Stripes.

Following the war, Sanders sought a position at the Greensboro Daily News and became a sports writer-cartoonist for the paper in 1959. Sanders also started his own syndicate and while working for the Daily News, his cartoons were reprinted in several papers in North Carolina, Georgia and Japan. Having grown up and worked in the South, Sanders had been influenced by civil rights issues and his liberal treatment of civil rights issues prompted heated debates about his cartoons.

In 1963, Sanders moved to the Kansas City Star and in 1967 he became the editorial cartoonist at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel which he retired from in 1991. During this time, Sanders’ work was also syndicated by the King Features Syndicate and appeared in over 200 publications.

Sanders received several awards including Kansas City Civil Liberties Achievement Award, the International Salon of Cartoons Award, the National Headliners Award (1975) and the Wisconsin Civil Liberties Special Award. In 2002, Western Kentucky University formally exhibited his work at a show titled "Bill "Whitey" Sanders: Comic Opera". His cartoons have appeared in the collection: Getting Angry Six Times a Week: a Portfolio of Political Cartoons: 14 major cartoonists and he has published books of entirely his own cartoons: Run for the oval room: they can't corner us there (1974) and Adventures in Whopperland : a collection of political cartoons, written opinions and essays (2006) .

In retirement, Sanders continues to submit cartoons to his local paper, the Fort Myers New Press, and publishes them online along with some of his writings through his blog.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Bill Sanders Cartoons are arranged into 3 series reflecting the newspaper for which Sanders produced them. The collection consists of 133 original editorial cartoons published during the 1960s. The bulk of the cartoons appeared in the Kansas City Star while three cartoons in the collection are from his earlier work at the Greensboro Daily News and 2 cartoons lack indication of a specific publication. The majority of the cartoons are undated. The folders of dated cartoons typically include a clipping of the cartoon from the newspaper on the back of the original which is stamped with the date.

The cartoons were drawn in ink and crayon on illustration board with screening. The cartoons vary in size.

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Arrangement of the Collection

The cartoons are arranged in rough chronological order with three items of Sanders' work for the Greensboro Daily News appearing first followed by his work from the Kansas City Star. Dated cartoons appear first, followed by undated cartoons arranged alphabetically by caption.

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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

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

Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Mao, Zedong, 1893-1976 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Sanders, Bill.

Associated Titles

Greensboro Daily News.
Kansas City star (Kansas City, Mo. : 1885)

Subjects

American wit and humor, Pictorial.
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States.
Cartoonists -- Missouri.
Cartoonists -- North Carolina.
Cartoonists -- United States.
Civil rights movements -- United States -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Editorial cartoons -- Missouri.
Editorial cartoons -- North Carolina.
Editorial cartoons -- United States.
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
World politics -- 1945-1989 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Places

United States -- Politics and government -- 1963-1969 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Genres and Forms

Cartoons (humorous images)
Editorial cartoons.

Occupations

Cartoonists.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Bill Sanders Cartoons,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Bill Sanders, 1968 and 1970.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: MD
Date: 24 Nov 2008
Revision history: 24 Nov 2008 - converted to EAD (MD); 14 Oct 2009 - added detailed inventory and index, bio changes (SK)

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Inventory

See below for an index to the cartoons.

Cartoons- Greensboro Daily News
Oversize 1, Folder 1 26 Feb 1963; undated (3 items)
Cartoons- Kansas City Star
Oversize 1, Folder 2 Dated (13 items)
1963- Aug 14
1963- Aug 26
1963- Aug 24
1963- Aug 27
1963- Jul 24
1963- Sep 16
1964- Feb 18
1964- Mar 10
1964- Mar 20
1964- Mar 24
1964- Mar 25
1964- Aug 16
1964- Sep 28
Undated
Oversize 1, Folder 3 A-B circa 1963-1967 (9 items)
Oversize 1, Folder 4 C circa 1963-1967 (8 items)
Oversize 1, Folder 5 D-G circa 1963-1967 (12 items)
Oversize 1, Folder 6 H circa 1963-1967 (10 items)
Oversize 1, Folder 7 I circa 1963-1967 (18 items)
Oversize 2, Folder 1 K-M circa 1963-1967 (9 items)
Oversize 2, Folder 2 N-P circa 1963-1967 (10 items)
Oversize 2, Folder 3 S-T circa 1963-1967 (13 items)
Oversize 2, Folder 4 V-W circa 1963-1967 (16 items)
Oversize 2, Folder 5 Y circa 1963-1967 (6 items)
Oversize 2, Folder 6 uncaptioned circa 1963-1967 (4 items)
Cartoons- unknown publication
Oversize 2, Folder 7 uncaptioned circa 1963-1967 (2 items)

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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, F= Folder. For example: B1F1= Box 1 Folder 1.

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