Morrie Brickman cartoons
Scope and Content of the Collection
This collection consists of Morrie Brickman’s The Small Society comic strip, including: 60 original daily cartoon drawings, 40 original Sunday strip drawings, proofs of daily cartoons, 1966-1985, and Sunday cartoons 1967-1983. The first strip designed for the editorial pages, The Small Society represented the views and reactions of ordinary people to politicians and current political and cultural affairs. Brickman satirized current events and American life, covering topics such as the Vietnam War, Reaganomics, inflation, grocery prices, family, and taxes.
Dates
- Creation: 1966-1985
Creator
- Brickman, Morrie, 1917-1994 (Person)
Language
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The Morrie Brickman Cartoons are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Morrie Brickman Cartoons are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
Biography of Morrie Brickman
Comic artist and creator of the syndicated comic strip The Small Society.
Morrie Brickman was born July 17, 1917 in Chicago, and grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. After high school, Brickman pursued his interest in art, taking courses at the Chicago Art Institute and the American Academy of Art when he could afford to do so. He worked selling shoes, cleaning up for John Groth (illustrator and editor for Esquire), designing shoe ads for Kling Studio, and helping out in his father’s shoe repair shop.
Brickman entered the U.S. Army in 1941 and was stationed in North Africa and Italy as a member of a topographic company. Upon his discharge, he returned to Chicago and married Shirley Kronenthal in 1945. They had a daughter, Harriet, and a son.
Brickman created several features before The Small Society, including Pic-Trix, Maximillian, The Senator, Crosscut, and Blue Chips. Brickman also served as the vice-president for National Newspaper Syndicate and continued to do freelance commercial work.
Brickman introduced The Small Society in 1966. It was syndicated by King Features and distributed to over three hundred newspapers around the world. It won first prize at the 9th International Salon of Cartoons and the Illinois House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring Brickman for innovative journalism.
In 1984, Brickman sold the strip to King Features where it continued until 1998 under the hand of Bill Yates. Brickman then completed the script for Coming of Age, his play about retirement. He died in March of 1994.
Extent
2.1 Linear Feet (3 oversize boxes)
Abstract
Newspaper cartoons of Chicagoan Morrie Brickman
Arrangement
Materials arranged chronologically.
Collection Stack Location
1 7 7, 1 16 3
Provenance
Gift of Harriet Brickman, 2003.
Processed by
Shannon Yule, 2007.
Acknowledgements
This inventory was created with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this inventory do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Subject
- Brickman, Morrie, 1917-1994 (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Inventory of the Morrie Brickman Cartoons, 1966-1985
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Shannon Yule
- Date
- ©2007.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 08/16/2011: Revisions, additions, and updates were made.
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org