Art Young’s Cartoon Mat Service
Political cartoons
Offset Lithograph Flyer. In this advertisement, Young touts his cartoon-making services and presents several examples of his work. He offers five cartoons every two weeks for six months for $20. These cartoons were probably pulled from his large collection of prints of his work—Young’s family threw out hundreds of such prints after his death. Most of the examples he includes in this ad reflect Young’s socialist perspective, including the one captioned “Uncle Nick Lenin: ‘Hurry Up, Charlie, If You Want a Ride,’” which features Vladimir Lenin.
Young, Art, 1866-1943
From the collection of Anthony J. Mourek
Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
1922
jpg
English
2010.00246
It’s Hell But Here We Are Again
New Year
Young frequently designed and sent as many as 500 Christmas and New Year cards annually, and this one from 1938 features one of his many self-portraits and a reference to his several hell-themed books. As a working artist and small businessman he used his mailing list for contacts, especially when he was developing “Good Morning” magazine.
Young, Art, 1866-1943
From the collection of Anthony J. Mourek
Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
1938
jpg
English
image
2010.00997
Better Jump on Charlie
International trade
Published in Der Groyser Kundes (New York), April 1, 1921, and Good Morning (New York), April 15, 1921. Ink Drawing with English text on linen covering Yiddish. This is the original drawing of one of the cartoons features in “Art Young’s Cartoon Mat Service.” This cartoon, captioned “Uncle Nick Lenin: ‘Hurry Up, Charlie, If You Want a Ride’” in the printed version, depicts the leaders of Germany, Italy, and England jumping on a truck of Russian resources driven by Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin while U.S. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes watches, uncertain. At this time, Lenin was instituting the “New Economic Policy” in the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union was reentering international stage; the Anglo-Soviet Trade Agreement had been signed by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union on March 16, 1921. In addition to trade issues, the parties agreed to refrain from hostile actions or propaganda against one another’s interests and institutions. Here, Young advocates for the U.S. to resume international trade with the Soviet Union with as much enthusiasm as it seemed Britain and the rest of Europe were showing.
Young, Art, 1866-1943
From the collection of Anthony J. Mourek
Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
April 1921
jpg
English
Political cartoon
2010.02148
The Blow That Almost Killed a Cartoonist
Cartoonists--United States
Ink drawing. This self-portrait by Young comments on his perception of himself as an outsider in his profession. In 1914, Young was nominated for membership in the National Press Club, but was rejected. In Art Young: His Life and Times, Young writes that “my record was against me,” in part because of the libel suit brought against him by the Associated Press. A very similar drawing is featured in his autobiography; this may be a sketch for that cartoon.
Young, Art, 1866-1943
From the collection of Anthony J. Mourek
Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
c. 1914
jpg
English
Political cartoon
2010.00268
Ambition: In Hell as it is On Earth
Capitalism
Social conflict
Ink drawing. Published in Art Young’s Inferno: A Journey Through Hell Six Hundred Years After Dante. New York, Delphic Studios: 1934, p. 64. This is one of Young’s many cartoons that focus on the conflict between capitalist values and socialist values rather than specific political events. In this case, Young has dramatized the capitalist worldview as a modern version of hell. This cartoon was an illustration in one of his several books inspired by Dante’s Inferno.
Young, Art, 1866-1943
From the collection of Anthony J. Mourek
Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
c. 1934
jpg
English
Political cartoon
2010.02042
The Issue that is Over and Above All Other Issues
Capitalism--United States |
Natural resources--United States |
Socialism--United States |
Ink & Crayon Drawing, 14 x 20.5 in. Caption: “The issue that is over and above all other issues; but Mr. Hoover and Mr. Smith do not choose to see it.” This item shows how Young’s socialist politics informed his cartoons on current events. Private ownership of public needs is depicted as a dragon brooding over things like forest, water power, schools, and railroads. The socialist candidate for president in 1928, Norman Thomas, arms himself with votes from labor in an effort to slay the dragon. Meanwhile, Young indicates in the caption, Republican presidential candidate Herbert Hoover and Democratic presidential candidate Al Smith ignore this private ownership, which is “over and above all other issues.”
Young, Art, 1866-1943
From the collection of Anthony J. Mourek
Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
c. 1928
jpg
English
Political cartoon
2010.02068
Is He a Vicious Animal?
Capitalism--United States |
Natural resources--United States |
Ink & crayon drawing published in The Best of Art Young. New York: The Vanguard Press, 1936, p. 55.
Caption: “Is he a vicious animal? Just you try to take his bone away.”
This is an example of one of Young’s cartoons attacking the capitalist system, in this case for its exploitation of natural resources.
Young, Art, 1866-1943
From the collection of Anthony J. Mourek
Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
Undated
jpg
English
Political cartoon
2010.02061
Business is Business
Business enterprises
Ink & Crayon Drawing. This is another, more elaborate, example of one of Young’s cartoons criticizing capitalist society by depicting it as a modern version of hell. In this case, “Office of Satan & Co.” forecloses on mortgages and squeezes the supplicating people because “it’s business.”
Young, Art, 1866-1943
From the collection of Anthony J. Mourek
Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
c. 1892-1934
jpg
English
Political cartoon
2010.00127
In Darkest Chicago
Illinois--Chicago
Crime--Illinois--Chicago
Ink drawing. This is an example of an early non-political cartoon by Young from the days of Chicago’s Columbian Exposition serves. Many fair visitors spent money in the "Levee," a notable vice district in Chicago, and many politicians got a cut of that money. The Levee’s location between the fairgrounds and the hotels in Chicago’s Loop helped it draw tourists leaving the fair to its nighttime, illegal entertainments. This cartoon, published in Chicago Inter-Ocean, depicts “types of the Levee.” Vice districts were havens for crime, but the city tolerated that crime with the intention of keeping it confined to a manageable area. The cartoon shows thieves congregating and preying upon passersby, an impoverished girl selling flowers on the street, a disreputable concert hall, and a police raid.
Young, Art, 1866-1943
From the collection of Anthony J. Mourek
Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
c. 1890
jpg
English
Political cartoon
2010.00065
Carter Harrison Bluster
Elections--Illinois--Chicago
Mayors--Illinois--Chicago
Political corruption--Illinois--Chicago
Ink drawing. Published in Chicago Inter-Ocean
Young, Art, 1866-1943
From the collection of Anthony J. Mourek
Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
c. 1893
jpg
English
Political cartoon
2010.01636