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Art Sansom Cartoons

An inventory of his cartoons at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: EF
Date: 1968

Biographical History

Arthur Baldwin Sansom (1920-1991), commonly known as Art Sansom, was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip The Born Loser.

Sansom was born in East Cleveland, Ohio in 1920. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University, graduating in 1942 with a degree in art. The early part of his career was spent as an engineer/draftsman for the General Electric Company. Sansom subsequently spent many years as a cartoonist, working on the strips Chris Welkin, Planeteer and Vic Flint among others before launching his signature creation, The Born Loser, with the NEA syndicate in 1965. Sansom worked on the hugely popular strip until his death in 1991. The strip was taken over by his son Chip Sansom, who had worked as Art's assistant for many years. The Born Loser received the National Cartoonists Society's prestigious Reuben Award in 1987 and 1991.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Art Sansom Cartoons collection contains original daily and Sunday cartoons from the comic strip The Born Loser (1966-1968). Daily cartoon: traces of graphite, opaque white, zipatone, crayon, pen and ink on illustration board, dimensions vary, most approx. 6 ¼ x 18 in. Sunday cartoon: traces of graphite, opaque white, zipatone, pasteovers, crayon, pen and ink on illustration board, dimensions vary, most approx. 18 ¼ x 26 in.

Arrangement of the Collection

Daily and Sunday cartoons are arranged separately 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

Sansom, Art.

Corporate Bodies

Newspaper Enterprise Association.

Associated Titles

The born loser (comic strip)

Subjects

American wit and humor, Pictorial.
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States.
Cartoonists -- United States.
Comic books, strips, etc. -- United States.

Genres and Forms

Cartoons (humorous images)

Occupations

Cartoonists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Art Sansom Cartoons,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Table of Contents

The Born Loser

Inventory