Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Young, Chic, 1901-1973
Title:	Chic Young Cartoons
Inclusive Dates:	1929-1934
Quantity:	2.5 linear ft.
Abstract:	Original cartoons from the newspaper comic strips Blondie, Dumb Dora, The Family Foursome and When Mother Was a Girl.
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

Murat Bernard Young (1901-1973), famously known as Chic Young, was an American cartoonist and creator of the newspaper comic strip Blondie.

Chic Young was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up St. Louis, Missouri. He returned to Chicago to study at the Chicago Art Institute, lived briefly in Cleveland where he drew The Affairs of Jane for the NEA syndicate, and then landed in New York in 1922. His first strip there, Beautiful Bab for the Bell Syndicate, earned him a job offer from King Features Syndicate.

His first strip for King, in 1924, was Dumb Dora. In April of 1930, Young turned this strip over to Paul Fung so that he could devote himself to his new creation, the strip for which he is best known—Blondie. (One notes a pattern: Young had a knack for drawing pretty girls!) The strip, over the course of its long run, took Blondie from a flighty single girl with several beaux to marriage and children with Dagwood Bumstead and, eventually, a career as a caterer. The strip and its characters were aggressively and cleverly marketed, which resulted in 28 movies starring Arthur Lake and Penny Singleton as well as a radio show and a television series. Several artists worked with Young on Blondie over the years, including Alex Raymond, Ray McGill, and Jim Raymond. Young's son Dean eventually took the strip over on his father's death.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Chic Young Cartoons collection contains 12 original daily cartoons and 5 original Sunday cartoons from the comic strip Blondie (1934). The collection also contains 1 original Sunday cartoon from the Blondie topper strip The Family Foursome (this title ran with the Sunday feature)(1934). In addition, there are 4 original Sunday cartoons from the comic strip Dumb Dora (1929-1930) and 3 original examples of its topper strip, When Mother Was a Girl (1929).

Please note that some of the large format Sunday cartoons are complete in two pieces; some of our holdings are partial (only 1 of 2 pieces). See Inventory for details.

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Arrangement of the Collection

The cartoons are arranged in alphabetical order by title, then chronologically. The daily Blondie cartoons are foldered separately at the head of the collection.

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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 Paul Fung Cartoons collection for additional material related to Dumb Dora and When Mother Was a Girl. See the C. D. Russell Cartoons collection for additional material related to Blondie. Special Collections Research Center has collections of more than 150 cartoonists. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Associated Titles

Subjects

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Chic Young Cartoons,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Rendell, 1968.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: BB
Date: Dec 1968
Revision history: 27 Mar 2007 - converted to EAD (MRC); 18 Mar 2009 - revised (MD); 29 Apr 2011 - revised related material (AM)

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Inventory

	Blondie 1934 (17)
		Daily cartoons (12)
			(blue pencil, pen and ink on illustration board, approx. 5 ½ x 21 in.)
Box 1			August 3, 1934
Box 1			August 4, 1934
Box 1			August 7, 1934
Box 1			August 9, 1934
Box 1			August 10, 1934
Box 1			August 11, 1934
Box 1			August 13, 1934
Box 1			August 16, 1934
Box 1			August 17, 1934
Box 1			August 18, 1934
Box 1			August 20, 1934
Box 1			August 24, 1934
		Sunday cartoons (5)
			(blue pencil, pen and ink on illustration board, dimensions vary)
Box 1			August 5, 1934 - (partial/1 piece)(7 x 21 ½ in.)
Box 1			August 12, 1934 - (partial/1 piece)(7 x 21 ½ in.)
Box 1			August 19, 1934 - (complete/2 pieces)(17 ½ x 21 ½ in.)
Box 1			August 26, 1934 - (partial/1 piece)(7 x 21 ½ in.)
Box 1			September 9, 1934 - (partial/1 piece)(9 ½ x 21 ½ in.)

	Dumb Dora 1929-1930 (4)
		Sunday cartoons
			(blue pencil, pen and ink on illustration board, approx. 19 x 23 in.)
Box 1			October 20, 1929 - (complete/2 pieces)
Box 1			October 27, 1929 - (complete/2 pieces)
Box 1			March 2, 1930 - (complete/2 pieces)
Box 1			March 16, 1930 - (complete/2 pieces)

	The Family Foursome 1934 (1)
		Sunday cartoons
			(traces of graphite, pen and ink on illustration board, approx. 9 ½ x 21 ½ in.)
Box 1			August 5, 1934 - (complete/1 piece)(w/ Blondie "Paper Doll Review")

	When Mother Was a Girl 1929-1930 (3)
		Sunday cartoons
			(traces of graphite, pen and ink on illustration board, dimensions vary)
Box 1			October 27, 1929 - (complete/1 piece)(9 ¼ x 23 in.)
Box 1			November 24, 1929 - (complete/1 piece)(7 x 19 ¼ in.)
Box 1			March 16, 1930 - (complete/1 piece)(7 x 23 in.)

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