Table of Contents
Scope and Contents of the Collection
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Overview of the Collection |
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| Creator: | Montana, Bob |
| Title: | Bob Montana Cartoons |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1946-1970 |
| Quantity: | 12 linear ft. |
| Abstract: | Original daily and Sunday cartoons from the newspaper comic strip version of Archie. |
| 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
Bob Montana (1920-1975) was born in Stockton, California to a vaudeville family. A self-described "art school dropout" from the Boston Museum, the Phoenix Institute and the Art Students League of New York, he is best known as the creator of the popular comic character Archie. His other cartoons include Danny in Wonderland, Inspector Bentley, Lu-Nar, and Spark Stevens. He also created cover art during World War II for Pep, Zip, Top-Notch, and Jackpot, frequently depicting superheroes such as The Shield, Steel Sterling, and the Black Hood battling Japanese and Nazi soldiers.
Archie debuted in Pep and Jackpot in 1941 and got his first solo comic book in 1942 but was put on hold for four years when Montana joined the Army Signal Corps where he worked on training films with fellow cartoonists Sam Cobean and Charles Addams. After leaving the army, Montana started the Archie newspaper strip, which ran in both daily and Sunday versions. Since Montana did not own the character, other artists also drew the red-headed teenager, but Montana remained with the strip until his death.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Bob Montana Cartoons collection consists of 1,537 original daily cartoons and 183 original Sunday cartoons from the newspaper comic strip version of Archie. Daily cartoon: traces of graphite, zipatone, brush, pen and ink on illustration board, approx. 7 ¼ x 23 in. Sunday cartoon: traces of graphite, blue pencil, paste-overs, brush, pen and ink on illustration board, approx. 15 ¼ x 22 in.
Arrangement of the Collection
Daily and Sunday cartoons are arranged separately in chronological order.
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 collections of over one hundred cartoonists. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.
Subject Headings
Persons
Associated Titles
Subjects
Genres and Forms
Occupations
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Bob Montana Cartoons,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Gift of Bob Montana, 1970.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: DB
Date: 26 Apr 1978
Revision history: 12 Mar 2007 - converted to EAD (MRC);
11 Mar 2009 - revised (MD)
Inventory
| Archie comic strip | |||||||||||
| Click here for detailed inventory. | |||||||||||
| Daily cartoons (1,537) | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | 1946 Mar - 1949 Jun | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | 1949 Jul - 1951 Jun | ||||||||||
| Box 3 | 1951 Jul - 1954 Jan | ||||||||||
| Box 4 | 1954 Feb - 1955 Jun | ||||||||||
| Box 5 | 1955 Jul - 1956 Dec | ||||||||||
| Box 6 | 1957 May - 1957 Dec | ||||||||||
| Box 7 | 1958 Jan - 1961 Oct | ||||||||||
| Box 8 | 1962, 1965, 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 9 | 1968 Jan - 1969 May | ||||||||||
| Sunday cartoons | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | 1956 Jan - 1970 Jan | ||||||||||