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Eugene Craig Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: DB
Date: 13 Apr 1978

Biographical History

Eugene Craig (1916-1984) was an American editorial cartoonist.

Eugene Craig was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on September 5, 1916. His father worked as a professional mural painter. Although forced to write with his right hand while in school, Craig continued to draw with his left hand.

After graduating from high school, Craig went to work at the News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1951 Craig took a job with the Brooklyn Eagle and in 1955 left for the Columbus Dispatch. In addition to drawing four to seven editorial cartoons a week, Craig also drew the color gag cartoon, Forever Female. In 1981, Craig left the Dispatch.

The Freedoms Foundation presented Craig with several awards including their top honor and Craig was also selected to design the postage stamp commemorating the Battle of Brooklyn. His work appeared in the Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year series. Craig was a member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and the National Cartoonists Society.

Craig died on March 18, 1984 at his Winchester, Ohio home following lung cancer.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Eugene Craig Papers contain primarily original editorial cartoons but also several printed posters.

Cartoons (1946-1970) is comprised of approximately 1,637 pieces of original artwork for editorial cartoons. The cartoons are from Craig's time at three different newspapers: the News-Sentinel (1946-1949), Brooklyn Eagle (1951-1954), and Columbus Dispatch (1958-1970). The cartoons are divided by newspaper and arranged chronologically (approximately 1,201 cartoons). However, at the end of the series there are three boxes of undated cartoons (436 items) that are arranged in alphabetical order by caption.

Many Brooklyn Eagle cartoons address New York City’s transportation needs. In his later work, Craig regularly commented on the Vietnam War in many cartoons, however, little in this particular collection addresses anti-war protests and other demonstrations. Craig often used imagery of the Vietnam War as a metaphor for domestic problems and political elections. Also of interest is Craig’s attention to the issue of rapid, worldwide population growth and food shortages.

Craig used human figures to represent the cities in which he worked. Father Knick portrayed New York City and Christopher Columbus stood in for city of Columbus. Very detailed facial features can bee seen in Craig's style of caricature. Craig's blocky signature for the Dispatch differs from his signature on earlier works which was accented by a large "C".

The name of the newspaper typically appears on the Brooklyn Eagle cartoons (stamped on the back in red ink) and the News-Sentinel cartoons (written on the back in ink). Some work for the Dispatch has a stamp on the front with Craig’s name and the Dispatch’s address. Dates appear in several formats. The News-Sentinel work typically has a string of numbers representing the date under Craig’s signature. Some works have stamped engraver’s dates on the back. Many of the Dispatch cartoons contain a sticker for Dispatch Features. Remnants of production notes stuck on the back of the Dispatch cartoons are present. Dates appear in pen or pencil.

The artwork varies in size, but generally measures 11"x14" to 13"x16". Craig worked primarily with ink and crayon on illustration board but there are several cartoons that were drawn exclusively in ink without crayon shading.

Printed material contains five undated posters (three separate designs) designed by Craig for the American Red Cross featuring Christmas scenes, urging people to give blood. These were printed with green ink on white paper and measure 12"x 16".

Arrangement of the Collection

Original artwork is arranged in chronological order followed by three boxes of undated cartoons which are arranged in alphabetical order by caption.

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

Craig, Eugene.
DiSalle, Michael V. (Michael Vincent), 1908-1981 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Gaulle, Charles de, 1890-1970 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978 -- 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.
Lausche, Frank John, b. 1895 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Mao, Zedong, 1893-1976 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Rhodes, James A. (James Allen), 1909-2001 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Corporate Bodies

American Red Cross -- Posters.
Democratic Party (U.S.) -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ) -- Caricatures and cartoons.
United States. Congress. -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Associated Titles

Brooklyn eagle.
Columbus dispatch.
News-Sentinel.

Subjects

American wit and humor, Pictorial.
Caricatures and cartoons -- Fort Wayne (Ind.)
Caricatures and cartoons -- New York (N.Y.)
Caricatures and cartoons -- Ohio -- Columbus.
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States.
Cartoonists -- United States.
Civil rights movements -- United States -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Cold War -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Editorial cartoons -- Columbus (Ohio)
Editorial cartoons -- Fort Wayne (Ind.)
Editorial cartoons -- New York (N.Y.)
Editorial cartoons -- United States.
Elections -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Population -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Space Exploration -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Taxation -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
World politics -- 1945-1989 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Places

Ohio -- Politics and government -- 1951- -- Caricatures and cartoons.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Genres and Forms

Cartoons (humorous images)
Editorial cartoons.
Posters.

Occupations

Cartoonists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Eugene Craig Papers
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Eugene Craig, 1966-1970.

Table of Contents

Cartoons

Printed material

Index to cartoons

Inventory

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,