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Lawrence Lariar Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MM
Date: 29 May 1968

Biographical History

Lawrence Lariar (1908-1981) was an American cartoonist, illustrator and writer.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lariar graduated from Erasmus High School in 1925 and studied art at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts (1926-1929). Later, he studied at the Academie Julien in Paris and at the Art Students League of New York. Initially he worked as a commercial advertising artist, but after 1933 he shifted his focus to freelance illustration and cartooning. His work often appeared in the New York daily papers, as well as popular magazines of the era including Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, American Magazine, College Humor, New Yorker, Judge, and Country Gentlemen. He was cartoon editor of Liberty Magazine (1941-1948) and of Parade magazine. He served as Director of the Professional School of Cartooning and as President of the American Society of Magazine Cartoonists. Lariar authored and edited numerous books over the course of his career including the annual series Best Cartoons of the Year. He also published mystery novels under the names Adam Knight, Michael Stark and Michael Lawrence.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Lawrence Lariar Papers consists of artwork, correspondence, memorabilia, and writings. In some cases material arrived with notes from Lariar giving explanations or dates; these notes have been retained with the material in the appropriate folders.

Artwork contains both published and original work. Original art contains drawings for the books Andrew the Ant and Golf and Be Damned, as well as greeting cards, assorted cartoons and sketches, and a self-caricature. Published material includes cartoons published in both magazines and newspapers as well as advertising art, several comic strips, and a few political cartoons. In some cases it was impossible to tell whether the title at the top of the page was the title of the cartoon or the title of the publication in which it appeared, so all are alphabetized together. Many of the published cartoons were published during World War II and have military life as their theme.

Correspondence contains general correspondence as well as a separate folder relating to Lariar's work with the USO, the Committee on War Cartoons, and other war efforts.

Writings contains published material (articles, the dust jackets for two of Lariar's books, humor pieces, and short stories) and manuscripts (typescript of Andrew the Ant, the short story "Flatbush is a horrible place," and a television script for Rocky King, Detective.

Memorabilia contains clippings about Lariar, two scrapbooks of Lariar's cartoons and humorous writings, and clippings from the "Colonel Stoopnagle's Scrapbook" humor page.

Arrangement of the Collection

Material is arranged alphabetically.

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.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has more than 40 published works by, or edited by, Lawrence Lariar in our Rare Books holdings. Please consult the Classic Catalog for additional information.

Subject Headings

Persons

Lariar, Lawrence, 1908-1981.

Subjects

American wit and humor, Pictorial.
American wit and humor.
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States.
Cartoonists -- United States.
Humorous stories, American.
Illustrations -- United States.
Illustrators -- United states.
Military life -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Soldiers -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Genres and Forms

Cartoons (humorous images)
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Illustrations.
Scrapbooks.
Scripts (documents)
Sketches.

Occupations

Cartoonists.
Illustrators.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Lawrence Lariar Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Lawrence Lariar, 1967, 1969-1970, 1977.

Table of Contents

Artwork

Correspondence

Memorabilia

Writings

Inventory