No Laughing Matter: Preserving Cartoons in The Filson’s Collection

On January 7, 2015, two gunmen forced their way into the Parisian headquarters of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. They killed eleven people and injured eleven others. The motive for the massacre was the magazine’s cartoons, which had lampooned Islamic leaders and the Prophet Muhammad. It was a grim reminder of the dangers faced by those who push the envelope of freedom of expression. Although cartoonists are in the business of making people laugh, events such as the Charlie Hebdo attacks call attention to the serious nature of their work. Over the years, cartoonists have used humor to encourage people to think in new ways, to criticize those in power, to challenge the status quo, or to point out absurdity in our society. In countries where free speech is limited, cartoons have often been a subtle way of circumventing censorship.

Fontaine Fox at the drawing board, Fontaine Talbot Fox, Jr. Photograph Collection.

FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Of course, not all cartoons are created with such pointed intent. Some cartoonists simply seek to entertain their audience with comic strips that millions of readers turn to over a cup of coffee on a lazy morning. The most successful strips create characters that capture the imagination of a nation, such as Charlie Brown from Peanuts and Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. People remember these characters fondly for years after the cartoon has ceased publication.

The Filson collects cartoons of both varieties: political cartoons, with their commentary on events, and cartoons of the simply humorous variety. The following provides an overview of cartoons preserved in The Filson’s archives.

Humorous Cartoons

“All I have to say is that it’s a mighty queer way to make a living!” So Fontaine Fox’s father exploded when he saw his son’s first editorial cartoon in the local newspaper. Fox started his career as a reporter for the Louisville Herald—a path his father, an editorial writer himself, appreciated. In short order, however, and to his father’s evident chagrin, Fox switched to drawing cartoons.¹

During a visit to the town of Pelham, New York, Fox received inspiration for what would become one of the nation’s most beloved comics. While in Pelham, he rode on the local trolley car, where the conductor’s unhurried manner and penchant for gossiping with his passengers gave Fox the idea for his own comic strip. By 1915, the resulting comic series, Toonerville Folks, had come to the attention of the Wheeler Syndicate and was soon published in newspapers across the nation. It had indeed become a way to make a living.

Piloted by the Skipper, the Toonerville Trolley was a notoriously noisy contraption, Fontaine Talbot Fox Papers.

FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The Filson’s collections contain a number of items documenting the life and career of this celebrated cartoonist, including photographs of Fox and his family, as well as some of his correspondence and several scrapbooks with clippings of his cartoons. Notable among Fox’s papers are a collection of twenty-one original pen and ink cartoons from his beloved Toonerville Folks. Set in the fictional town of Toonerville, the single-paneled cartoon featured a rickety trolley car and a glimpse into suburban life in the early twentieth century. In its initial years of publication, Fox received letters from readers across the nation who were convinced that he was caricaturing their hometown. Fox created a cast of characters that charmed a nation: the Terrible-Tempered Mr. Bang, the Powerful Katrinka, Mickey (Himself), McGuire (the town bully), Aunt Eppie Hog (the fattest woman in three counties), and of course the Skipper, who piloted the beloved trolley car. Toonerville Folks ran in hundreds of newspapers nationwide for over forty years, until Fox’s retirement in 1955. His comics would become an inspiration for a future generation of cartoonists.

The influence of Toonerville Folks is clearly evident in the work of Wallace Mathis. During his college years, Mathis drew cartoons for Vanderbilt University’s humor magazine and yearbook...