Collection inventory


Special Collections home page


Charles Strauss Papers

An inventory of his Papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MM
Date: 3 June 1968



Biographical History

Charles Earl Strauss (1911-2000) was an American cartoonist, illustrator and commercial artist.

Born in Jeffersonsville, Indiana on April 7, 1911, Strauss received a A.B. from Oberlin College and also studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Students League in New York City and at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. Strauss published cartoons and illustrations in a variety of publications ranging from trade magazines to youth magazines such as Boy's Life as well as in general interest publications like Collier's and the Saturday Evening Post. In addition to cartooning and illustrating, Strauss was an instructor at the Grand Central School of Art in New York City and with the Frenchtown, New Jersey public schools.

Charles Strauss died on February 7, 2000.


Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Charles Strauss Papers consist of 3 series: Artwork, Correspondence and Photographs. A range of genres are represented in the Artwork series (1942-1966). Strauss drew and wrote comic book stories for Casper and Spooky, illustrated greeting cards, published cartoons in magazines and newspapers, drew posters and drew covers for crossword puzzle books. While there are several folders of clippings of his published work, the bulk of the collection is original artwork as noted in the inventory. Magazines represented include the Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, Boy's Life, American Legion and the Wall Street Journal.

Social humor was the primary subject of Strauss' magazine cartoons but other common themes involve children and American Indians. Also of interest are a series of cartoons with the title, "A Ultima Palavra" that are in Portugese. There are also several unfinished sketches and drawings of buildings included.

Many of the pieces are undated and do not contain any information on where it was submitted for publication. Many contain notations from engravers and about shading and size. Strauss typically drew his cartoons in pen and ink on varying weights and finishes of illustration board and paper. Of particular interest are several drawings done in color (Oversize 1).

There are also 2 letters (1963, 1966) in Correspondence and 2 undated photographs of Strauss.


Arrangement of the Collection

Artwork appearing in specific publications have been arranged by the publication's title while the rest has been arranged by type of artwork.


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

Strauss, Charles.

Associated Titles

American legion.
Boy's life.
Collier's.
Saturday evening post.
Wall Street journal.

Subjects

American Indians -- Caricatures and cartoons.
American wit and humor, Pictorial.
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States.
Cartoonists -- United States.
Comic books, strips, etc.
Commercial art -- United States.
Commercial artists -- United States.
Illustrators -- United States.
Magazine covers.

Genres and Forms

Cartoons (humorous images)
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Greeting cards.
Illustrations.
Posters.
Proofs (printed matter)
Sketches.

Occupations

Cartoonists.
Commercial artists.
Illustrators.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Charles Strauss Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Charles Strauss, 1967.


Table of Contents

Artwork

Correspondence

Photographs


Inventory