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Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
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Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
The brainchild of cartoonist Richard Outcault, Buster Brown is a comic strip starring Buster and his talking dog Tige as they go on mischievous misadventures. Buster Brown was one of the first animated characters to take the American public by storm and expand into new markets, from shoes to suits, stockings, watches, cameras, bread, and even a theatrical play. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
| October 29, 1904 | It is reported that Richard Outcault used Roger Cushman Clark as the model to create Buster Brown. |
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| 1905 | Buster Brown is adapted for a stage play. |
| November 12, 1905 | Buster Brown mania is at an all-time high. |
| June 28, 1906 | By now Richard Outcault is considered the world’s highest paid artist. |
| November 5, 1906 | The Herald and Hearst newspapers battle over the rights for Buster Brown. |
| September 26, 1915 | Almost ten years later and Buster Brown is still selling merchandise, from watches to footwear. |
