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Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum facts for kids
| Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Research library |
| Scope | Comic art |
| Established | 1977 |
| Location | Columbus, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 39°59′58″N 83°00′32″W / 39.9995°N 83.0088°W |
| Branch of | Ohio State University Libraries |
| Other information | |
| Director | Jenny E. Robb, Curator and Associate Professor Lucy Caswell, Founder and former Curator Wendy Pflug, Associate Curator and Assistant Professor Caitlin McGurk, Associate Curator for Outreach and Assistant Professor |
| Website | cartoons.osu.edu |
The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is a special place for studying American cartoons and comic art. It is part of the Ohio State University library system in Columbus, Ohio. This museum is home to the world's largest collection of original and printed comic strips, editorial cartoons, and other cartoon art.
It was once known as the Cartoon Research Library. The museum is named after a famous Ohio cartoonist, Billy Ireland.
The collection includes many types of cartoon art. You can find comic books, daily strips, Sunday strips, and graphic novels. There are also magazine and sports cartoons. The museum holds 450,000 original cartoons. It also has 36,000 books and 51,000 different comic series. Plus, there are 2.5 million comic strip clippings.
Contents
Discovering Cartoon History
The Cartoon Library started in 1977. This happened when the Milton Caniff Collection was given to Ohio State. Lucy Shelton Caswell became the first curator. A curator is like a manager for a museum's collection.
Lucy Caswell explained how it all began. Milton Caniff loved his university very much. He believed his education helped him succeed. So, he wanted to give back to the school.
His collection was first kept in two classrooms. One room was for reading, and the other for storage. At that time, there were not many places to learn about comics. Lucy Caswell had to figure things out as she went. She looked at other cartoon collections. She found that no one else had such a big collection of art and papers.
Growing the Collection
The collection quickly grew from two classrooms. It became part of the University Libraries. By 1989, the library needed more space. It moved to a larger building. The collection kept growing, needing even more storage. At this point, it was called the Cartoon Research Library.
In 1992, United Media donated a huge collection. It included 83,034 original cartoons. These were by 113 different cartoonists. In 1996, the library received many Newspaper Enterprise Association comic strip proof books. Proof books are like early copies of comic strips. They also got original art from cartoonists P. Craig Russell and Lynn Johnston.
In 1998, the library bought the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection. This made it the biggest collection of newspaper comic strip clippings in the world. Six large trucks brought this collection from California to Ohio.
A New Name for the Museum
In 2008, the International Museum of Cartoon Art collection moved here. This added over 200,000 original cartoons. It included comic strips, comic books, and animation art.
In 2009, the museum got a new name. It became the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. This was because of a large gift from a donor. The museum was named after William Addison Ireland. He was a self-taught cartoonist from Ohio. Billy Ireland worked for The Columbus Dispatch newspaper. He drew editorial cartoons and his Sunday feature, The Passing Show.
Past Names of the Library
- Milton Caniff Reading Room, starting in 1977
- Library for Communication and Graphic Arts, around 1983–1989
- Cartoon Research Library, 1989–1994
- Cartoon, Graphic, and Photographic Arts Research Library, 1994–July 2009
- Cartoon Library and Museum, July 2009–September 2009
- Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, from September 2009
Amazing Cartoon Collections
The Milton Caniff Collection has 12,000 original artworks. It also includes many boxes of fan letters and business papers.
The museum has many other important collections. These include works by Nick Anderson and Jim Borgman. You can also find art by Eldon Dedini and Edwina Dumm. The Woody Gelman Collection features Winsor McCay cartoons. There are also collections from Walt Kelly and Bill Watterson.
The Bud Blake Collection has over 5,800 cartoon panels. It also includes 10,000 original Tiger comic strips. For comic book fans, there's the Will Eisner Collection. The Jay Kennedy Collection has over 9,500 underground comic books.
The museum also has work by Anne Mergen. She was the only female editorial cartoonist in the U.S. for a long time.
Fun Exhibitions and Events
The library hosts many programs about cartoon art. They put on exhibitions and lend art to other museums. They also invite speakers, hold workshops, and host conferences.
Some of the museum's exhibitions are available online. You can explore them from anywhere! Certain collections have also been digitized. They are part of the library's Digital Exhibits.
Festival of Cartoon Art
The Festival of Cartoon Art was a special event. It happened every three years from 1983 to 2013. Cartoonists, scholars, fans, and students attended. Famous cartoonists like Lynda Barry, Milton Caniff, and Will Eisner spoke there. Other speakers included Jeff Smith and Bill Watterson.
The People Behind the Cartoons
Lucy Caswell was the curator from 1977 to 2010. She wrote several books about cartooning.
Jenny E. Robb became the new curator in 2011. Before this, she worked at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. Wendy Pflug joined as an associate curator in 2011. Caitlin McGurk is another associate curator. She helps with outreach, exhibits, and tours.
A New Home at Sullivant Hall
The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum moved to Sullivant Hall. This historic building was renovated for the museum. The new space is much larger. It grew from 6,808 square feet to over 40,000 square feet.
The new facility has a special reading room for researchers. It also has three museum-quality galleries. There is expanded storage with great climate control and security.
In 2009, Jean Schulz, the wife of Charles M. Schulz, donated $1 million. She also promised more money if others donated. Cartoonist Bil Keane and his family gave $50,000. The renovation project cost $20.6 million. It was finished in 2013. Sullivant Hall now houses both the museum and Ohio State's Department of Dance.
Awards and Recognition
In 2011, Lucy Caswell received the Silver T-Square Award. This award is from the National Cartoonists Society.
See Also
- Comics Crossroads Columbus
- Michigan State University Comic Art Collection
- The Cartoon Museum, a London museum for British cartoons