THE CARTOON COLLECTION OF JAMES DOBBINS

Finding Aid

Size: 12.0 linear feet

Literary rights:
Literary rights were not granted to the Wichita State University. When permission is granted to examine the manuscripts, it is not an authorization to publish them. Manuscripts cannot be used for publication without regard for common law literary rights, copyright laws and the laws of libel. It is the responsibility of the researcher and his/her publisher to obtain permission to publish. Scholars and students who eventually plan to have their work published are urged to make inquiry regarding overall restrictions on publication before initial research.

Restrictions: None

Content note:
The cartoon collection of James Dobbins was originally submitted to The Boston Herald Traveller in Boston, Massachusetts as editorial cartoons. The cartoon collection includes cartoons from 1953 to 1976.

Biographical note:
James Dobbins was born in Woburn, Massachusetts on August 12, 1924. He studied at the Massachusetts College of Art and graduated in 1951 with a bachelor's degree. James Dobbins was interested in sports cartooning and his work shows influence from Willard Mullin and Bob Coyne. He started working at the weekly Woburn Press in 1945 then he moved to the Woburn Daily Times and worked there until 1949. During the presidential election of 1952, he became committed to the Lowell Sun in Massachusetts. In 1953, Dobbins substituted on the New York Daily News during C. D. Batchelor's vacations. From 1954 to 1956, Dobbins worked for the Boston Post and then went to the Traveler and Herald-Traveler until 1972. From there, he went to the Herald-American until 1977. He then switched to the Manchester Union Leader, a prominent right-wing daily.

Dobbins has produced a collection of his work, Dobbins's Diary of the New Frontier, which was published after the death of John F. Kennedy. Among the awards Dobbins has received were thirteen Freedoms Foundation Honor medals and two grand prizes, three National Safety Council awards and the Christopher Literary Award.