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Marvin Townsend Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: EF
Date: 10 June 1968



Biographical History

Marvin J. Townsend (1915- ) is an American cartoonist and commercial artist.


Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Marvin Townsend Cartoons collection contains original artwork, correspondence, memorabilia, and published material.

Artwork contains original art -- ink and zipatone screening -- for Townsend's strips Bert (drawn for National Safety News), Foxy, Little Tommy Hawk, Poochie, and Quacker. Several of these ran in the Catholic Messenger's children's publication, Our Little Messenger. There is also a large number of unidentified panels and strips.

The bulk of Correspondence is fan mail, much of it from children regarding the strips that ran in Our Little Messenger. There are a few pieces of correspondence from clients, a few requesting original art or commenting on some aspect of a specific cartoon, and one folder from Dorothy Andrews, editor of Our Little Messenger, with a list of age-appropriate words and topics. There is also a folder of correspondence with St. John's School for the Deaf regarding Townsend's wordless strip Julie and Jack.

Memorabilia consists of a biographical sketch and a photocopy of a "Certificate of Merit" for cartooning.

Published material contains a clipping of a page of gag panels done for FTD. The book Moontoons Jokes and Riddles has been transferred to Rare Books for cataloging.


Arrangement of the Collection

Material is arranged alphabetically.


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

Book, Moontoons Jokes and Riddles, sent to Rare Books for cataloging.

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

Townsend, Marvin.

Associated Titles

Our little messenger.

Subjects

American wit and humor, Pictorial.
Cartoonists -- United States.
Comic books, strips, etc.
Deaf -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Dogs -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Ducks -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Extraterrestrial beings -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Indians of North America -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Outer space -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Genres and Forms

Cartoons (humorous images)
Clippings (information artifacts)
Comic strips.
Correspondence.
Fan mail.

Occupations

Cartoonists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Marvin Townsend Cartoons,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Marvin Townsend, 1967.


Table of Contents

Artwork

Correspondence

Memorabilia

Published material


Inventory