HOW TO DECONSTRUCT POLITICAL CARTOONS
The Simon Fraser University Library Editorial Cartoons Collection contains over 5000 original drawings by Len Norris, Roy Peterson, Graham Harrop, Bob Krieger, Dan Murphy, Bob Bierman, Ingrid Rice, and Edd Uluschak published in Canadian newspapers between 1952 and the present.
Herblock's history: political cartoons From the crash to the millennium This site provides access to an online exhibition of political cartoons created by leading American cartoonist Herbert Block. They span the years 1929-2000 and cover a wide range of political and social topics. These include: political satire; American Presidents (Truman; Carter; Reagan; Clinton; Ford; Nixon), the 1960s civil rights movement, the Cold War, the space race between the USA and Russia, the Second World War, Nixon and the Watergate scandal and the presidential election campaign of 2000. The site contains a biography of the cartoonist and some commentary on the background to and importance of the cartoons used. It was created by the Library of Congress.
Dr. Seuss went to war: a catalog of political cartoons by Dr. Seuss This site is maintained by the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego, and provides access to a collection of political cartoons produced by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) during the Second World War. They comprise over 400 cartoons published in the New York newspaper PM from 1941-43. Subjects covered include: United States involvement in WWII, and political satire of Adolf Hitler, the Nazis and the Japanese. Material is arranged chronologically. Some background information on Dr Seuss is provided.
Cartooning for peace Cartooning for Peace was an online exhibit prepared in 2006 by United Nations Regional Information Center for Western Europe (UNRIC Brussels) and the 'Salon international du dessin de presse et d'humour de Saint-Just-le-Martel'. It was also linked to a seminar series entitled Unlearning Intolerance. It comprises over 40 cartoons from 18 international cartoonists worldwide and disccusion of the political role and responsibility of the cartoonist with regard to the coverage of conflict and war. The site provides free access to the cartoons and selected webcasts of the seminars. They include materials relating to the Arab-Israeli conflict and US foreign policy. Copyright information is displayed on the website.
Edmund Valter: the cartoonist who came in from the cold This site provides free access to an online exhibition of the work of American cartoonist Edmund Valter. It is hosted by the Library of Congress and comprises background text and several dozen examples of his political cartoons and satire, mainly from the 1960s-1980s. Major coverage is of political issues relating to the Cold war, these include attitudes towards Communist nations and leaders including the Soviet Union, Communist China and Cuba and Fidel Castro.
Dirksen Center's editorial cartoon collection This site is maintained by the Dirksen Center. It provides free access to a small collection of online political cartoons and associated learning materials. These feature materials produced by Everett Dirksen (1896-1969) covering topics relating to American politics, civil rights; Congress and the Vietnam war. Most were produced during the 1960s. Lesson plans are provided for teachers.
Cartoon America is the companion website for a Library of Congress exhibition, also titled Cartoon America. This November 2006 exhibition showed a small selection from the 36,000-item Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature. The Cartoon America website contains 87 representative historic images, grouped under the following topics: Illustration; Political Illustrations; Caricature; Animation; Gag & Single Panel Cartoons; and Comic Strips.
Art and politics of Arthur Szyk This online exhibition displays work by the Polish-born Jewish artist, caricaturist and political crusader Arthur (Artur) Szyk. Curated by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the exhibition was on display there between April and October 2002. The online exhibit shows over 40 works, dating from 1913 to 1949, including book illustrations, pages from Passover haggadahs and scenes from the biblical Book of Esther, as well as cartoons and caricatures from American newspapers and magazines such as the 'New York Post', 'Chicago Sun', 'Time', and 'Look'.
Red scare (1918-1921) The Red scare website is an image database focussing on the history of the United States in the period immediately following the end of the First World War and the widespread concern at social and political upheaval. It provides access to almost 300 images - photographs and political cartoons - reproduced primarily from contemporary newspapers and magazines of that time.
Baldy editorial cartoons, 1946-1982, 1997 This site forms part of the Digital Library of Georgia. It provides access to several hundred political and satirical cartoons produced by Clifford H. Baldowski, 'Baldy', for the Atlanta Constitution and Augusta Chronile from 1946-1982 and in 1997. They include coverage of the black civil rights movement in Georgia and Martin Luther King; Watergate and Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War, local politics in Georgia and the Cold War.
Punch Magazine and Cartoon Library This is the official website of Punch Magazine and cartoon Library. It is a repository of information and images about the British satirical magazine which was published from 1841-2002. It includes a history of the magazine and of political cartoons. There is also an online gallery where a selection of famous political satire and cartoons can be viewed.
Cartoonbank: cartoons and covers from the New Yorker CartoonBank is an online store of more than 20,000 cartoons which have appeared in the new Yorker magazine from the 1920s to the present day. There are also examples of unpublished cartoons from artists who have published work in this magazine. The politics section includes examples of political caricature and satire.
The art of war Produced to mark the 60th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, this online exhibit from the UK's National Archives displays the art that "informed and inspired the war-time nation" during the second world war. The exhibition has three main themes. 'Illustration' displays caricatures, comics, images from books and magazines, and the graphic booklet 'Horrors of war'. 'Propaganda' contains images relating to the home front and the fighting forces, images aimed at those working in factories and images showing allied unity and the famous wartime personalities often used in war-time propaganda. The 'Valour & gallantry' section contains 41 pieces commissioned by the Ministry of Information for a propaganda pamphlet illustrating the bravery and selflessness of members of the armed forces. In addition, an artists index enables images to be selected by artist, with some biographical information available and a selection of online film clips are also available.
H. M. Bateman This is the website of H. M. Bateman (1887-1970), 20th century cartoonist and caricaturist. Bateman was born in Australia, but moved to England as a baby. He contributed cartoons to most of the quality periodicals and during the 1920s and 1930s his the "Man Who …." series made him the highest paid and most copied humous illustrator of the time.
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy On September 30, 2005, Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, published twelve cartoons relating to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Many were satirical depictions of the prophet himself and were regarded as offensive or blasphemous by most Muslims. The publication and republication of the cartoons provoked many protests and acts of violence.
Red tape from red square 'Red tape from Red Square' is a comprehensive 1998 online exhibition by the National Centre for Public Productivity at Rutgers, the University of New Jersey. It examines bureaucracy and censorship in historic Russian illustrations, posters and cartoons. The exhibition covers both the Soviet and pre-Soviet decades.
NYPLDigitalGallery : posters of the Russian civil war, 1918-1922 'Posters of the Russian Civil War, 1918-1922' is an online exhibition presented by the New York Public Library. This is a medium-sized online image archive, containing "213 posters, placards, and broadsides" and the physical holdings are said to be "one of the largest assemblages of such posters outside of Russia".
Open season : anti-Japanese propaganda during world war 2 'Open Season' is an online exhibition by Jeremy Boggs, illustrating and examining the themes that were used in anti-Japanese propaganda as seen in the popular media in the USA during the Second World War. The author is the Creative Lead at the Center for History and New Media, George Mason University, and for the 'Open Season' website he draws on material from the Library of Congress, University of California, Pacific University Oregon, and the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The author offers five online galleries of extreme images under the headings: Background; Uncivilized; Animals; Predators; Curiosities. There is a short introduction, and a short list of further resources and key books.
Salt March 1930-2005 This site was created by the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the salt march. This event occurred in 1930 when Gandhi and 78 of his followers engaged in a march. It is recognised as a key moment in the struggle for Indian independence. Though the website was originally created to commemorate the anniversary, it provides free access to a wealth of documetns relating to it. These include a history; photographs of Gandhi; moving film image clips; political cartoons and a bibliography of further readings. Users should note that the site was created by supporters of Gandhi's politics.
The Berlin Airlift study materials This site, hosted by the Truman Presidential Museum and Library, posts study materials related to the Berlin Airlift, the famed transportation of food and supplies to non-Russian sections of Berlin in 1948-1949 in the face of a Soviet blockade. The resource includes almost 50 primary source documents covering the years 1948 through 1951, along with oral history interviews with noted figures. The documents are supported by explanatory historical essays taken from a book on the subject by D. M. Giangreco and Robert E. Griffin. There is a good subpage with many historical photographs, which help capture the darker and lighter aspects of the airlift, the latter perhaps exemplified best by contemporary political cartoons and images of chocolates with tiny parachutes that were dropped for Berlin's children. Further information is given on the aftermath of the Airlift up to 1959. The site has its own search engine and a set of accompanying lesson plans that augment the site's value as a secondary school teaching resource.
Korean War 1950-53: Evidence, Propaganda and Perspective This is an educational site which is a Project of the British Library. It provides access to materials developed for students aged 14-18. These include access to timelines of the Korean war; maps; biographies of leading players; glossaries of key terms and primary resource documents such as political cartoons, propaganda and treaties.
German Propaganda Archive: Nazi and East German Propaganda This site is maintained by Calvin College and contains a wealth of full-text documents relating to German propaganda from the 1930s to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This includes pre 1939 materials from the key Nazi leaders such as Adolf Hitler, Goebbels, Ley and Hess and propaganda produced during the second world war. The latter includes, speeches, writings, cartoons, photographs and political posters. Some of which are anti-Jewish.
1948 Presidential Campaign This site provides access to a wealth of materials relating to the 1948 presidential election campaign of Harry S. Truman. They were originally digitised by Project Whistletop and are now housed on the Truman Presidential Library site. They include the text of political manifestos, interviews, key speeches, opinion polls, photographs and political cartoons.
Heritage of the Great War The Heritage of the Great War website focuses on people's experiences of the First World War, rather than military tactics or statistics. To this end the site provides access to: a large collection of (sometimes explicit) contemporary photographs; related poetry and prose; political cartoons; music; and related articles. Some of the photographs are in (original) colour, and many are annotated with biographical or historical notes, as well as quotes from soldiers and others involved in the conflict.
Art of war: National Archives Exhibition This site provides free access to an online exhibition containing a collection of several hundred digital images of Second World War posters, prints, caricatures, cartoons and art works held by the British National Archives. Also accessible are clips from war time documentaries and government sponsored information films. They include important examples of British Ministry of Information propaganda materials as well as commentary on the homefront and conditions in the Second World War.
