Guides: Government Comics: Cartoon Collections

Cartoon Collections

These are individual cartoons and brief comic strips that have been compiled into a larger volume and published as a collection. The very first government comic book was The Cartoon Book, a compilation of propaganda cartoons commissioned from popular artists to promote the Third Liberty Loan bond campaign to help pay for expenses incurred during World War I. Over the years, the U.S. government has published several other anthologies devoted to a single theme or a single cartoonist, as well as a number of elaborately produced exhibition catalogs to accompany museum exhibits of cartoons and comic strips, also usually focused on a single theme or artist

Anthologies

America the Beautiful: A Collection of the Nation's Trashiest Humor by Anne Hamilton (compiler); U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Bureau of Solid Waste Management (issuing agency)
Call Number: HE 20.1402:AM 3
Publication Date: 1970
A compilation of satirical cartoons intended to raise awareness of the crisis in solid waste management. Cartoons are reprinted with the permission of the publishers, syndicates, and artists who own the copyrights. The cover is an editorial cartoon by Gib Crockett of the Washington Star.

Also available online:
America the Beautiful: A Collection of the Nation's Trashiest Humor, at the EPA website.
The Cartoon Book: Dedicated to the Success of the Third Liberty Loan by American Artists by U.S. Department of the Treasury, War Loan Organization, Bureau of Publicity (issuing agency)
Call Number: T 1.27/2:C 24 x
Publication Date: 1918
An anthology of cartoons by leading newspaper cartoonists of the World War I era, commissioned to promote Third Liberty Loan bonds to support the war effort. This giveaway was distributed during "Four Minute Men" speeches—short speeches delivered by volunteers in public places such as movie theatres to promote the war effort and the selling of war bonds.
No Laughing Matter: The Cartoonist Focuses on Air Pollution by U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service (issuing agency)
Call Number: FS 2.98:L 36
Publication Date: 1966
This book contains sixty cartoons on air pollution, which have appeared in a wide variety of newspapers and periodicals. They have been reprinted with the authorization of the publishers, syndicates, and artists who own the copyrights.

Also available online:
No Laughing Matter: The Cartoonist Focuses on Air Pollution, at HathiTrust.
Security is an Eye Patch by Charles M. (Charles Monroe) Schulz; U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service (issuing agency)
Call Number: FS 2.2:EY 3
Publication Date: 1968; cartoons © 1965–1966 United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
This educational pamphlet consists entirely of reprints of Peanuts cartoons that appeared in newspapers in November and December 1965 and January and March 1966. The cartoons use the characters Sally and Charlie Brown from the Peanuts comic strip to teach the public about the nature and treatment of amblyopia, commonly known as "lazy eye."

Exhibition Catalogs and Historical Studies

Drawing the Iron Curtain: Cold War Cartoons, 1946–1960: A Caroline and Erwin Swann Memorial Exhibition, May 23–August 16, 1996, Oval Gallery, Madison Building, Library of Congress by Library of Congress — Prints and Photographs Division
Call Number: LC 25.2:C 94
Publication Date: 1996
This book accompanied an exhibition of American editorial cartoons at the Library of Congress that commented on the early years of the Cold War. Among the 15 artists featured are Herblock, Bill Mauldin, Jules Feiffer, Charles Werner, C.D. Batchelor and Walt Kelly.
Herblock's History by Herbert Block; Library of Congress Staff (Contribution by)
Call Number: LC 1.2:H 62/9
ISBN: 0844410284
Publication Date: 2000
This exhibition catalog was created to accompany the exhibit "Herblock's History: Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millennium," which was displayed in the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress from October 17, 2000 to February 17, 2001.
The Mud and the Mirth: Marine Cartoonists in World War I by Cord Scott (personal author); U.S. Marine Corps University (issuing agency)
Call Number: D 214.513:C 24
ISBN: 9798985340358
Publication Date: 2022
"Visual arts constitute a significant portion of the Marines' life, from training manuals to public appearances. Illustrations may inform, educate, or entertain the masses, be they civilians or military personnel. The Mud and the Mirth takes a deeper look at comic illustrations from the earliest publications for the Marine Corps—the Recruiters Bulletin, the Marines Magazine, and the Marines Bulletin—prior to World War I, as well as presents the entire collection of Stars and Stripes cartoons illustrated by Marine cartoonist Abian A. Wallgren." [Description provided by publisher.]
Political Cartoons in the 1848 Election Campaign by Anne Marie Serio; Smithsonian Institution (issuing agency).
Call Number: SI 1.28:14
Publication Date: 1972
The Harry T. Peters "America On Stone" Lithography Collection in the Smithsonian Institution contains over 150 lithographed election cartoons and caricatures. These cartoons, dating from the mid-nineteenth century before newspapers carried editorial cartoons, are directly tied to the events of the time and reflect the opinions of the general public as well as of those who drew and published them. Nine of these cartoons were issued during the election of 181$. This study discusses these cartoons and their interrelationship with the personalities and issues of the campaign. These cartoons add a further dimension to the history of the election.
Posada's Mexico by Ronnie C. Tyler; Library of Congress Staff (Contribution by); Amon Carter Museum of Western Art Staff (Contribution by); Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Staff (Contribution by)
Call Number: LC 1.2:P 84/4
ISBN: 0844403156
Publication Date: 1979
Catalog of an exhibition held at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, Nov. 1, 1979–Jan. 1, 1980, Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth, TX., Jan. 25–Mar. 9, 1980, and Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO, Apr. 26–June 1, 1980.

Online Archives

These are online collections of government comics, as well as collections of non-governmental comics that have been archived on government websites.

Library of Congress

Small Press Expo Comic and Comic Art Web Archive
The Small Press Expo (SPX) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit created in 1994 to promote artists and publishers who produce independent comics. The Small Press Expo Collection at the Library of Congress was established to preserve the history of both the artistic output of the creators who come to SPX, as well as the art that SPX itself generates as part of its yearly festival. May include content that is not suitable for all ages.
Webcomics Web Archive
This collection focuses on comics created specifically for the web and includes work by artists and subjects not traditionally represented in mainstream comics, including women artists and characters, artists and characters of color, LGBTQ+ artists and characters, as well as subjects such as politics, health and human sexuality, and autobiography. May include content that is not suitable for all ages.

National Archives and Records Administration

Clifford K. Berryman Political Cartoon Collection
"A collection of 2,400 original pen-and-ink drawings by Clifford K. Berryman from the U.S. Senate Collection is housed at the Center for Legislative Archives. Berryman was Washington's best known and most-admired graphic commentator on politics in the first half of the 20th century. Berryman's career as a political cartoonist began in the late 1880s with the Washington Post and continued in 1907 with the Evening Star. Berryman's career for the Evening Star extended over forty years, until his death in 1949. The cartoons comment on Washington politics, congressional issues, presidential elections, and both World Wars. The collection also includes approximately 230 cartoons by Jim Berryman, Clifford's son. This collection of Clifford and Jim Berryman cartoons are in the public domain."

U.S. Senate

Political Cartoons and Caricatures
Artifacts from the Senate Collection organized by date, with the oldest object listed first.
The Political Cartoons of Thomas Nast
From the introduction: "With a barbed wit and regular appearances in Harper's Weekly newspaper, Thomas Nast fathered the modern political cartoon. Earlier cartoons had relied on conversation or dialogue to make their point, but Nast emphasized the picture itself, using caricature and symbolism to convey his message."
Puck Magazine
From the introduction: "Puck was founded by Austrian-born cartoonist Joseph Keppler and his partners as a German-language publication in 1876. . . It employed lithography in place of wood engraving and offered three cartoons instead of the usual one. The cartoons were initially printed in black and white, but later several tints were added, and soon the magazine burst into full, eye-catching color."

Government Comics