Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Hasen, Irwin, 1918-2015.
Title:	Irwin Hasen Cartoons
Inclusive Dates:	1955-1968
Quantity:	21 linear ft.
Abstract:	Over 3,500 pieces of original artwork for the comic strip Dondi and five proofs.
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

Irwin Hasen (1918- ) is an American cartoonist and comic book artist.

Hasen was born in New York City on July 8, 1918 and graduated from Dewitt Clinton High School. He studied at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League. Initially, Hasen pursued sports cartooning, drawing boxing-related caricatures. He was drafted during World War II and was the editor of the Fort Dix Gazette until his discharge in 1946.

Hasen had worked as a freelance advertising artist but expanded into comic books in the late 1930s. His credits during the 1940s and 1950s include work with Archie Publications; Detective Comics, romance comics for Fawcett; DC Comics titles including Green Lantern and Wild Cat; the Flash at DC Comics and work for Bert Whitman Associates. From 1944 to 1945 Hasen drew the Goldbergs strip which was distributed by the New York Post Syndicate. Hasen also produced promotional comics for Bazooka Bubble Gum.

Hasen became an active member of the National Cartoonists Society and while on an NCS sponsored tour of Germany, he met Gus Edson. Together they created the Dondi comic strip, about a World War II orphan, with Hasen drawing the strip and Edson writing the story. The Chicago Tribune-New York News syndicate distributed the strip to over 100 newspapers from 1955 to 1986 and Dondi was also adapted into a motion picture.

The National Cartoonists Society has recognized Hasen's work with several awards including the best newspaper story strip for Dondi in 1961 and 1962 and a Silver T-Square Award in 1969. At the 1999 San Diego Comicon, Hasen received the Inkpot Award.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Irwin Hasen Cartoons are arranged into a single series.

Dondi (1955-1968) contains approximately 3,553 pieces of original artwork for the comic strip of the same name as well as five proofs. There are 3,022 daily strips and 531 Sunday strips. Please note for several days there are both Sunday and daily formats. Also of interest is one Sunday strip produced in color (September 30, 1956).

All are signed "Edson and Hasen" although Hasen is typically credited with drawing the strip while Edson wrote the strip. The strips were drawn in pen and ink on illustration board. Notations appear in pencil and blue pencil. Each work contains a copyright notice sticker. Many strips feature detailed sketches on the back. Frequently, Sunday panels were completed in pieces and then pasted onto a larger piece of illustration board comprising the final Sunday version of the comic strip. On some pieces, the date and title of the strip have been stamped. Artwork for daily strips measures approximately 7" x 22". Dimensions for Sunday artwork varies between 16 3/4" x 23 3/4" and 20 ½" x 29" .

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Arrangement of the Collection

Cartoons are arranged chronologically. Daily and weekly (Sunday) strips are housed separately.

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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

For additional Dondi material, see the Gus Edson Papers.

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

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Irwin Hasen Cartoons
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Irwin Hasen, 1967-1968.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: -
Date: 2001-01-01
Revision history: 12 Mar 2007 - converted to EAD (MRC); 24 Aug 2010 - added detailed inventory (SK); 9 Mar 2020 - OS 19 split up, OS 30 created (MRC)

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Inventory

	Dondi cartoons
		Click here for a detailed inventory.
		Daily cartoons (3,022 items)
Oversize 1			Daily cartoons 1955 Dec-1956 Dec
Oversize 2			Daily cartoons 1957 Jan-1958 Jun
Oversize 3			Daily cartoons 1958 Jul-1959 Mar
Oversize 4			Daily cartoons 1959 Apr-Sep
Oversize 5			Daily cartoons 1959 Nov-1960 Jun
Oversize 6			Daily cartoons 1960 Jul-1961 May
Oversize 7			Daily cartoons 1961 Jun-Dec
Oversize 8			Daily cartoons 1962 Jan-Aug
Oversize 9			Daily cartoons 1962 Sep-1963 Apr
Oversize 10			Daily cartoons 1963 May-Nov
Oversize 11			Daily cartoons 1963 Dec-1964 Jun
Oversize 12			Daily cartoons 1964 Jul-1965 Feb
Oversize 13			Daily cartoons 1965 Mar-Aug
Oversize 14			Daily cartoons 1965 Sep-1966 Mar
Oversize 15			Daily cartoons 1966 Apr-Sep
Oversize 16			Daily cartoons 1966 Oct-1967
Oversize 17			Daily cartoons 1967
Oversize 18			Daily cartoons 1967-1968 Apr
		Sunday cartoons (531 items)
Oversize 19			Sunday cartoons 1955 Oct
Oversize 30			Sunday cartoons 1955 Dec-1956 Sep
Oversize 19			Sunday cartoons 1956 Oct-1957 Mar
Oversize 20			Sunday cartoons 1957 Apr-1958 Aug
Oversize 21			Sunday cartoons 1958 Sep-1959 Dec
Oversize 22			Sunday cartoons 1960
Oversize 23			Sunday cartoons 1961-1962
Oversize 24			Sunday cartoons 1962 Jun-1963 Apr
Oversize 25			Sunday cartoons 1963 May-Dec
Oversize 26			Sunday cartoons 1964
Oversize 27			Sunday cartoons 1965
Oversize 28			Sunday cartoons 1966
Oversize 29			Sunday cartoons 1967-1968

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