Collection inventory

Special Collections home page

James Dobbins Cartoons

An inventory of his cartoons at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: BM
Date: Dec 1968

Biographical History

James J. Dobbins (1924-1994) was an American editorial cartoonist. He spent most of his career affiliated with Boston-area newspapers.

Born in Woburn, Massachusetts, Dobbins graduated from Woburn High School and attended Cornell College for a brief period before serving as a Navy flier during World War II, where he was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, Dobbins attended Massachusetts College of Art, graduating in 1951. He landed his first newspaper job with the Woburn Daily Times while still in college (1947-1949). Dobbins continued at the Boston University Graduate School of Education and worked as an English teacher in the Boston School System before signing on with the Lowell (Mass.) Sun as an editorial cartoonist (1952-1953). In 1953, Dobbins took a short term, 4 ½ week assignment with the New York Daily News while that paper's esteemed cartoonist, C. D. Batchelor, was on an extended leave of absence. When Batchelor returned, Dobbins continued to produce the Sunday drawing for another several months.

Dobbins began what turned out to be a steady run with Boston-area newspapers in 1954, when he took up with the now defunct Boston Post (1954-1956). Subsequently, Dobbins spent sixteen years with the Boston Herald Traveler (1956-1972) and another five years with the Boston Herald-American (1972-1977) before finishing his distinguished newspaper career with the Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader. In his retirement, Dobbins continued to produce cartoons, regularly contributing to the monthly publication of the National Association of Government Employees. James Dobbins died May 5, 1994.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The James Dobbins Cartoons collection contains original editorial cartoons, sketches and clippings of cartoons. For

Arrangement of the Collection

This collection is partially arranged—re-housing and complete inventory are pending.

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

Dobbins, James.

Associated Titles

Boston herald traveler and Boston record American (Boston, Mass.)
Boston post (Boston, Mass. : Daily)
Lowell sun (Lowell, Mass. : 1888)
New York daily news.

Subjects

American wit and humor, Pictorial.
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States.
Cartoonists -- United States.
Editorial cartoons -- United States.
World politics -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Places

United States -- Politics and government -- 1953-1961 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1961-1963 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1963-1969 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1969-1974 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Genres and Forms

Cartoons (humorous images)
Clippings (information artifacts)
Editorial cartoons.
Sketches.

Occupations

Cartoonists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

James Dobbins Cartoons,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of James Dobbins, 1967-1972.

Table of Contents

Editorial cartoons (1968 accession)

Published cartoons (1978 accession)

Original artwork (1978 accession)

Original artwork, later accessions

Inventory