Selected Collections

Thomas E Powers, artist. *The Hut Club. Joe went after the big one.* Circa 1912. Swann Collection of Caricature & Cartoon. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division

Listed below are selected collections in the Prints & Photographs Division that contain original cartoon and caricature art. The entries give a sense of the variety and quantity of items in each grouping, with links to searchable content or further information. The collections fall into two major groups: those consisting of items that are predominantly pre-20th century and those that are predominantly 20th century or later. Comics (e.g. comic strip and comic book art) figure prominently in some collections that also have strong holdings of political cartoons and caricature. Other collections heavily or even exclusively present political and social cartoon and caricature.

Where available, links are provided to Prints & Photographs Online Catalog categories where the collection can be searched or to search results in the catalog for materials that do not have their own category. In other cases, links are to summary descriptions in catalog records. Please note that some collections have not yet been fully organized and described. These generally have "unprocessed" in their call number. To access these "unprocessed" collections, please submit an online request form at least 14 days before you hope to visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room.

Predominantly Pre-20th Century

American Cartoon Prints summary & search
These eighteenth- and nineteenth- century American prints, numbering about 800 prints and spanning 1766-1896, were originally designed to express sentiments relating to civic life and government in the United States and were individually issued prints. They illustrate the rise and decline of allegorical expression and the evolution of important symbols such as Liberty, and Justice. Key artists include James Akin, James Charles, and Edward Williams Clay.
British Cartoons Collection summary & search
These approximately 9,000 political and social satires and caricatures span 1650-1832 and have brief records based on the British Museum Catalogs. Cartoons highlight aspects of British political life, including tensions with its colonies and other nations, as well as society, fashion, manners, and theater during this era largely dominated by such hugely talented and prolific caricaturists as James Gillray and George Cruikshank.
French Political Cartoons catalog record
These approximately 375 cartoons date from circa 1700-1871, but are concentrated between 1789-1792. They largely depict events of the French Revolution, from pre-revolution through the Franco-Prussian War, mainly in caricatures and satirical images by such notable artists as François Bonneville, Louis Boilly, Honoré Daumier, Jacques Louis David, J.J. Grandville, and Charles Philipon.
Case Books summary & search
Among the more than 2,200 books and serials in this collection, many contain original visual materials such as engravings, woodcuts, and lithographs. Some partly or entirely digitized volumes include Harper's Weekly and Puck, key outlets for cartoons and caricature.
Bilderbogen search result
Holdings of these popular picture sheets that were generally intended both to entertain and instruct include political and other cartoons. Mostly German and some French, examples date from the late 19th to early 20th century.

Predominantly 20th Century and Later

Cabinet of American Illustration summary & search
These approximately 4,000 drawings and prints that span 1850-1930 were mainly published as narrative illustrations, but also include political cartoons by William Allen Rogers, Edward W. Kemble, John T. McCutcheon, and Thomas Nast that collectively number over 300. For more information, see the Cabinet of American Illustration research guide.
Cartoon Drawings Collection summary & search
These approximately 9,000 drawings span the late 1700s to the present, but mostly date from 1880 through 1980. They include political and editorial cartoon, caricature, comic strip and a few comic book drawings by some 700 artists. Although people and events around the world are covered, most images were intended for publication in American newspapers and magazines. Mostly donated by the artists, drawings continue to be added to the collection. Among famous artists represented are Winsor McCay, George Herriman, Miguel Covarrubias, Peggy Bacon, Steve Ditko, David Levine, Bill Mauldin, and Paul Conrad.
Herbert L. Block Collection summary & search
About 64,000 items that span 1929-2001 (mostly 1937-2001), these include more than 14,000 original cartoon drawings and more than 50,000 rough sketches. One of the most influential political commentators and editorial cartoonists in American history, Herbert L. Block first published cartoons in the Chicago Daily News in 1929, then the Newspaper Enterprise Association, then finally in The Washington Post in 1946 for the rest of his 72 year career, during which he documented domestic and international events.
Caroline and Erwin Swann Collection of Caricature and Cartoon summary & search
Numbering about 2,090 drawings, prints, and paintings that span 1780-1977 (mostly 1880-1970), this collection includes mainly cartoons, comic strips, and periodical illustrations by more than 500 mostly American but also some notable foreign artists.
Goldstein Foundation Collection summary & search
This collection contains more than 2,000 drawings and prints that date mainly from the 1880s to the 1960s, and includes caricatures and cartoons by mostly American artists.
Anne Mergen Collection of Editorial Cartoons for the Miami Daily News search result
This collection includes more than 600 drawings of editorial cartoons created by Anne Mergen from circa 1938-1956 that were primarily published in the Miami Daily News during her career as the paper’s editorial cartoonist. The drawings feature commentary on U.S. Presidents, World War II, and domestic issues.
Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature search result
This collection includes about 36,000 cartoon drawings that span three centuries, 1800-2000, most dating from 1941 and after. It heavily features cartoon and caricature but also contains significant holdings of illustration art. Accessing this unprocessed collection requires making an appointment in advance.
New Yorker Cartoon Drawings Collection, 1930-1980 search result
This collection comprises about 3,200 drawings that include cover design and cartoons for The New Yorker magazine created and donated by more than thirty artists including Peter Arno, Perry Barlow, Whitney Darrow, Jr., Chon Day, Doris Matthews, Mischa Richter, Charles D. Saxon, William Steig, and Gluyas Williams. Accessing this unprocessed collection requires making an appointment in advance.
Small Press Expo (SPX) Collection catalog record
This collection includes more than 1,000 drawings, prints, and posters of cartoon and caricature art donated by artists attending and exhibiting at the annual SPX. It features a huge variety of works dating from 2000 on, including art specifically designed for each year’s Expo, original pages of comic books, graphic novels, limited edition prints and posters, demonstrating recent trends in the art forms. Accessing this unprocessed collection requires making an appointment in advance.
Sam Willner Collection of American realist art, 1910-1960 catalog record
This collection includes about 716 items consisting of drawings, prints, photographs, posters that include notable examples of cartoon and caricature art. Accessing this unprocessed collection requires making an appointment in advance.
Ann Telnaes Collection search result
This collection comprises about 265 drawings, excluding some preparatory sketches that span much of her career, from 1996-2011. The only woman to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning (in 2001) and the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year (2017), Telnaes is a leading, influential political cartoonist who also teaches aspiring cartoonists. Accessing this unprocessed collection requires making an appointment in advance.
Cartoons by Pat Oliphant search result
This collection includes nearly 800 cartoon drawings and sketchbooks drawn for The Denver Post, The Washington Star, and Universal Press Syndicate from 1966-2001 over most of Pat Oliphant's career. This masterful, prolific, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist is widely recognized as one of the best and most influential of the second half of the 20th century. See online version of exhibition “Oliphant’s Anthem.” Accessing this unprocessed collection requires making an appointment in advance.
Cartoons by Jules Feiffer catalog record
This collection comprises than 1,000 items, mostly drawings, artwork, comic book drawings, comic books, posters. Items are mostly from the Jules Feiffer papers and date from 1935-1996. Highlights from this Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, playwright, author and screenwriter’s career were featured in "Jules Feiffer: Cartoons and Manuscripts," a Library exhibition of 75 cartoon drawings, manuscripts, posters and illustrations in 1996 [not online]. Accessing this unprocessed collection requires making an appointment in advance.

Cartoons & Caricatures: Finding Images at the Library of Congress

Prints & Photographs: Ask a Librarian

Selected Collections

Predominantly Pre-20th Century

Predominantly 20th Century and Later