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Kreigh Collins Cartoons

An inventory of his cartoons at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: EF
Date: 28 May 1968

Biographical History

Kreigh Collins (1908-1974) was an American cartoonist, illustrator and painter. He was the creator of the comic strip Kevin the Bold.

Born in Davenport, Iowa, Collins received his formal training as an artist at the Cincinnati Art Academy and the Cleveland Art School. He worked for many years as a magazine illustrator before signing on with the NEA syndicate to produce his first newspaper comic strip, Mitzi McCoy. In late 1950, this Sunday-page contemporary melodrama about a wealthy heiress made an abrupt transformation into a late-Medieval adventure strip. Kevin the Bold first appeared October 1, 1950. This beautifully drawn Sunday strip, focused on one of Mitzi McCoy's 15th Century Irish ancestors, ran in syndication for nearly twenty years. In 1968, Collins began work on the strip Up Anchor, a modern tale about sailing, loosely based on the real-life experiences of the Collins family. Up Anchor ran until 1972.

In addition to his magazine and newspaper work, Kreigh Collins illustrated a number of books during his career, including The Perilous Island: A Story of Mystery in the Aleutians (Philadelphia: Winston, 1942), The Amazing Story of Christopher Columbus (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Pub. Association, 1961) and David Livingston (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Pub. Association, 1961). Collins was an active painter throughout his life and completed a number of public murals in and around Grand Rapids, Michigan. Kreigh Collins died in 1974 at the age of 66.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Kreigh Collins Cartoons collection contains original Sunday cartoons from the comic strips Kevin the Bold and Up Anchor. Sunday cartoon: traces of graphite, blue pencil, opaque white, zipatone, brush, pen and ink on illustration board, most approx. 20 x 30 in.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection is 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

Collins, Kreigh, 1908-

Corporate Bodies

Newspaper Enterprise Association.

Associated Titles

Kevin the bold (comic strip)
Up anchor (comic strip)

Subjects

Adventure stories -- Comic books, strips, etc.
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States.
Cartoonists -- United States.
Comic books, strips, etc. -- United States.
Sailing -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Genres and Forms

Cartoons (humorous images)

Occupations

Cartoonists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Kreigh Collins Cartoons,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Newspaper Enterprise Association, Inc., 1967-1969.

Table of Contents

Kevin the Bold cartoons

Up Anchor cartoons

Inventory