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John Milt Morris Cartoons

An inventory of his cartoons at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MD
Date: 1 Dec 2008



Biographical History

John Milton Morris (1906-1994), also known as Milt Morris, was an American cartoonist.

John Milt Morris was born in Santa Barbara, California in 1906. As a teenager, Morris was involved in an accident that left him in bed for an extended period of time. During his recovery, Morris spent his time drawing.

Morris’ first job after high school was in the morgue at the Los Angeles Herald Express. Morris pursued art classes at night and was able to transfer to the art department. At age 23, Morris moved to New York City, where he struggled to find a job during the Great Depression until being hired at the New York Journal American. Five years later in 1935, Morris began working for the Associated Press.

In the 1940s, Morris filled in for editorial cartoonist Henry "Hank" Barrow and when Barrow left the Associated Press in July 1949, Morris replaced him. During his career as an editorial cartoonist, Morris traveled to Washington D.C., often with other cartoonists, to draw caricatures of the president currently in office. Morris spent over 50 years with the Associated Press.

In addition to editorial cartoons, Morris also drew Oscar Hitt’s panel cartoon, Neighborly Neighbors and he worked on the comic strip Scorchy Smith. Morris was a member of the National Cartoonists Society and he won the 1956 National Headliners Club Award.

John Milt Morris died on May 1, 1994 from pneumonia.


Scope and Contents of the Collection

The John Milt Morris Cartoons contain 190 pieces of original artwork for editorial cartoons produced for the Associated Press from 1960 to 1968. Morris' work focuses on national and international affairs. Frequent topics in this particular collection include the civil rights movement and urban riots, the Vietnam War including issues related to the draft and demonstrations, obscene reading materials and entertainment, and the Soviet Union.

Morris worked in ink and crayon on illustration board. Cartoons measure 12" x 14". Captions are typed and pasted on. Dates are written on the back in pen. Morris' name and address is also stamped on the back of each.


Arrangement of the Collection

Cartoons are arranged 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

Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Morris, Milt, 1906-1994.
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Corporate Bodies

Associated Press.

Subjects

American wit and humor, Pictorial.
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States.
Cartoonists -- United States.
Civil rights movements -- United States -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Editorial cartoons -- United States.
Strikes and lockouts -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
World politics -- 1945-1989 -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Places

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

Genres and Forms

Cartoons (humorous images)
Editorial cartoons.

Occupations

Cartoonists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

John Milt Morris Cartoons,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of John Milt Morris, 1969.


Table of Contents

Cartoons

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, F= Folder. For example: B1F1= Box 1 Folder 1.