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William B. Robinson Cartoons

An inventory of his cartoons at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: –
Date: Jan 1967

Biographical History

William Busby "Robbie" Robinson (1908-1969) was an Irish-American editorial and comic strip cartoonist.

William B. Robinson was born in Belfast, Ireland on May 25, 1908. Three years later, he came to the United States and received citizenship in 1920. From 1926 to 1928 Robinson was enrolled at Butler University and from 1928 until 1931 he studied at the John Herron Art School. Robinson worked as the editorial cartoonist at the Indianapolis News from 1948 until 1969.

In addition to his editorial cartoons, he created the nationally syndicated panel comic strip Josephine, which ran for 12 years. Robinson also enjoyed vocal music and was one of the earliest members of the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir.

Robinson, a Sigma Delta Chi member, was president of the Indianapolis Press Club and also received several Freedom Foundation Awards. He died on October 31, 1969.

John E. "Jack" Innis, for whom one of the cartoons was drawn, was Republican Party Chairman for Marion County, Indiana in the 1950s and foreman of the pressroom for the Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis News.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The William B. Robinson Cartoons consist of original editorial cartoons about national and international politics, as well as one item created for a personal friend, Jack Innis. Most are drawn on illustration board with ink and graphite.

Arrangement of the Collection

Cartoons are arranged in chronological order and foldered by year.

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 the papers of more than 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.
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Robinson, William B., 1908-1969.

Corporate Bodies

Indianapolis News (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Subjects

American wit and humor, Pictorial.
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States.
Cartoonists -- United States.
Editorial cartoons -- Indiana.
Editorial cartoons -- United States.
Political cartoons.
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Caricatures and cartoons.
World politics -- 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:

William B. Robinson Cartoons,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Bulk of collection gift of William B. Robinson, 1966-1967, 1969.

1950s items, gift of Nina Innis, 2020.

Table of Contents

Cartoons

Index to cartoons

Inventory

Index to cartoons

The following is a list of prominent 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.