Collection inventory

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Table of Contents

Overview of the Collection

Biographical History

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Arrangement of the Collection

Restrictions

Subject and Genre Headings

Related Material

Administrative Information

Index to cartoons

Inventory

Cartoons

Sketches

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Warren King Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University

Overview of the Collection
Creator: King, Warren.
Title: Warren King Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1960-1966
Quantity: 13.5 linear ft.
Abstract: Over 900 original editorial cartoons, photocopies of cartoons, sketches and a sample book.
Language: English
Repository: Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives

Biographical History

Warren King (1916-1978) was an American editorial cartoonist and painter.

Born January 3, 1916, Warren King grew up on Long Island, New York. After graduating from Fordham University in 1938 with a B.S., King studied at the Grand Central School of Art and at the Phoenix Art Institute until 1941. Although trained in painting, King pursued freelance illustration work for books, movies and advertising. King worked as cartoonist Rube Goldberg’s assistant before becoming editorial cartoonist for the New York Daily News in 1955.

The National Cartoonists Society recognized King in 1968 with the best editorial cartoon award and he also received several Freedoms Foundation awards (1953, 1959-1960, 1962-1963) and a 1963 award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews. King was a member of NCS, the Society of Illustrators, and the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists. He was also active in New York journalism organizations including the Newspaper Guild of New York and the Silurians, both of which presented him with awards. King's paintings appeared at the Pentagon and the Air Force Academy in Colorado.

Due to illness, King retired from the Daily News in June 1977 and he died on February 9, 1978 in Wilton, Connecticut.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Warren King Papers consist of two series: Cartoons and Sketches.

Cartoons is primarily comprised of over 900 original editorial cartoons drawn for the New York Daily News from 1960 to 1966. Several cartoons are undated. Many of the cartoons have notes taped on them listing the edition, final size and other instructions before the cartoon was published. Also included in the series are 55 copies of cartoons. Notes appear providing information about the government official or personality to whom the original was sent. There is also a bound sample book containing a brief biography of King, a note to the Silurians, and examples of his work from the New York Daily News from 1966.

While King used cartoons to comment on many national and internation events, the cartoons present a unique look at issues and politicians particular to New York City, including the 1962-1963 New York City newspaper strike. Included as frequent subjects were Mayors John Lindsay and Robert Wagner as well as rising crime rates, a proposed civilian police review board, off track betting and the city's and state's financial problems. Also worth noting is the language used by King in his cartoons. King often labeled figures (both of actual people and his more generic characters) as "finks", "pinkos" (labor union leader Walter Reuther) and "Vietniks".

The cartoons were drawn with pen and ink and graphite on varying textures of paper. Captions appear in blue pencil and traces of pencil are visible on the artwork. Sizes vary, but the majority are approximately 18" x 24".

Sketches contains 13 preliminary pencil sketches of ideas for cartoons on paper. These measure approximately 8 1/2" x 11".

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Arrangement of the Collection

The cartoons and sketches are arranged in chronological order with undated materials appearing at the end of the series.

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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

Castro, Fidel, 1926- -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Gaulle, Charles de, 1890-1970 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
King, Warren.
Lindsay, John V. (John Vliet) -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Mao, Zedong, 1893-1976 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Wagner, Robert F. (Robert Ferdinand), 1910-1991 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Corporate Bodies

United Nations -- Caricatures and cartoons.
United States. Congress. -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Associated Titles

Daily news (New York, N.Y. : 1920)

Subjects

American wit and humor, Pictorial.
Athletes -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States.
Cartoonists -- New York (N.Y.)
Cartoonists -- United States.
Cold War -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Crime -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Editorial cartoons -- New York (N.Y.)
Editorial cartoons -- United States.
Labor unions -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Police -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Social problems -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Taxation -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Transportation -- Caricatures and cartoons.
World politics -- 1945-1989 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Places

New York (N.Y.) -- Politics and government. -- Caricatures and cartoons.
New York (State) -- Politics and government -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Soviet Union --Politics and government -- Caricatures and cartoons.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1961-1963 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1963-1969 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Genres and Forms

Cartoons (humorous images)
Editorial cartoons.
Preliminary sketches.
Sample books.

Occupations

Cartoonists.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Warren King Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Warren King, 1966-1968.

One item (original political cartoon by Warren King, addressed to Armand Arel and National Airlines and signed by Warren King on April 15, 1977), gift of Marc Arel in honor of his father Armand Arel, 2025

Finding Aid Information

Created by: MM
Date: 22 May 1968
Revision history: 23 Sept 1970 - inventory updated (MB); 1 Dec 2008 - converted to EAD (MD); 1 Dec 2009- added detailed inventory and index (SK); 29 Jan 2026 - one item added (MRC)

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Inventory

Cartoons
See end of inventory for an index to the cartoons.
Oversize 1 Sample book circa 1966 - contains 12 copies of cartoons published during 1966, has a brief bio and a note to the Silurians society inside the front cover
Oversize 1, Folder 1 Cartoons 1960 Jan - Feb
Oversize 1, Folder 2 Cartoons 1960 Mar - Apr
Oversize 1, Folder 3 Cartoons 1960 May
Oversize 1, Folder 4 Cartoons 1960 Jun
Oversize 1, Folder 5 Cartoons 1960 Jul - Aug
Oversize 1, Folder 6 Cartoons 1960 Sep - Oct
Oversize 2, Folder 1 Cartoons 1960 Nov
Oversize 2, Folder 2 Cartoons 1960 Dec, 1960
Oversize 2, Folder 3 Cartoons 1961 Jan - Mar
Oversize 2, Folder 4 Cartoons 1961 Apr
Oversize 2, Folder 5 Cartoons 1961 May
Oversize 2, Folder 6 Cartoons 1961 Jun
Oversize 2, Folder 7 Cartoons 1961 Jul
Oversize 3, Folder 1 Cartoons 1961 Aug - Sep
Oversize 3, Folder 2 Cartoons 1961 Oct - Nov
Oversize 3, Folder 3 Cartoons 1961 Dec, 1961
Oversize 3, Folder 4 Cartoons 1962 Jan - Feb
Oversize 3, Folder 5 Cartoons 1962 Mar
Oversize 3, Folder 6 Cartoons 1962 Apr
Oversize 4, Folder 1 Cartoons 1962 May
Oversize 4, Folder 2 Cartoons 1962 Jun
Oversize 4, Folder 3 Cartoons 1962 Jul - Aug
Oversize 4, Folder 4 Cartoons 1962 Sep
Oversize 4, Folder 5 Cartoons 1962 Oct
Oversize 4, Folder 6 Cartoons 1962 Nov
Oversize 4, Folder 7 Cartoons 1962 Dec, 1962
Oversize 4, Folder 8 Cartoons 1963
Oversize 5, Folder 1 Cartoons 1964 Jan
Oversize 5, Folder 2 Cartoons 1964 Feb
Oversize 5, Folder 3 Cartoons 1964 Mar
Oversize 5, Folder 4 Cartoons 1964 Apr - includes one cartoon (April 29) stamped as used in Life magazine
Oversize 5, Folder 5 Cartoons 1964 May
Oversize 5, Folder 6 Cartoons 1964 Jun
Oversize 6, Folder 1 Cartoons 1964 Jul
Oversize 6, Folder 2 Cartoons 1964 Aug
Oversize 6, Folder 3 Cartoons 1964 Sep
Oversize 6, Folder 4 Cartoons 1964 Oct
Oversize 6, Folder 5 Cartoons 1964 Nov
Oversize 6, Folder 6 Cartoons 1964 Dec
Oversize 7, Folder 1 Cartoons 1965 Jan
Oversize 7, Folder 2 Cartoons 1965 Feb
Oversize 7, Folder 3 Cartoons 1965 Mar
Oversize 7, Folder 4 Cartoons 1965 Apr
Oversize 8, Folder 1 Cartoons 1965 May
Oversize 8, Folder 2 Cartoons 1965 Jun
Oversize 8, Folder 3 Cartoons 1965 Jul
Oversize 8, Folder 4 Cartoons 1965 Aug
Oversize 8, Folder 5 Cartoons 1965 Sep
Oversize 8, Folder 6 Cartoons 1965 Oct
Oversize 8, Folder 7 Cartoons 1965 Nov
Oversize 9, Folder 1 Cartoons 1965 Dec - includes 3 copies of cartoons
Oversize 9, Folder 2 Cartoons 1965 - includes cartoon for which King was awarded the Freedom Foundation Medal of Honor
Oversize 9, Folder 3 Cartoons 1966 Jan
Oversize 9, Folder 4 Cartoons 1966 Feb - includes 1 copy of a cartoon
Oversize 9, Folder 5 Cartoons 1966 Mar
Oversize 9, Folder 6 Cartoons 1966 Apr - includes 1 copy of a cartoon
Oversize 10, Folder 1 Cartoons 1966 May - includes 2 copies of cartoons
Oversize 10, Folder 2 Cartoons 1966 Jun - includes 2 copies of cartoons
Oversize 10, Folder 3 Cartoons 1966 Jul - Aug
Oversize 10, Folder 4 Cartoons 1966 Sep
Oversize 10, Folder 5 Cartoons 1966 Oct
Oversize 10, Folder 6 Cartoons 1966 Nov
Oversize 11, Folder 1 Cartoons 1966 Dec
Oversize 11, Folder 2 Cartoons undated - includes 14 copies of cartoons
Oversize 11, Folder 3 Cartoons undated - includes 15 copies of cartoons
Oversize 11, Folder 4 Cartoons undated - includes 15 copies of cartoons
Oversize 11, Folder 5 Cartoons undated
Oversize 11, Folder 6 Cartoons undated - includes 2 copies of cartoons, and one item donated separately
One item (original political cartoon by Warren King, addressed to Armand Arel and National Airlines and signed by Warren King on April 15, 1977), gift of Marc Arel in honor of his father Armand Arel, 2025
Sketches (16 items)
Box 1 Preliminary sketches
29 Nov 1966
1 Dec 1966
24 Dec 1966
29 Dec 1966
30 Dec 1966
undated

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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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