UVM Libraries Research Guides: Finding and Using Primary Sources: Political Cartoons

Online Collections

Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
This site provides access to recent political cartoons.
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum - Digital Collections
From the Ohio State University Libraries, portions of this collection have been digitized and can be searched or drill down and browse by time period. Materials in this collection are from the United States and elsewhere.
Clifford K. Berryman Political Cartoon Collection
This collection from the National Archives, provides access to thousands of political cartoons that were originally published in the Washington Post and the Evening Star between 1890 and 1949.
Editorial Cartoons of J.N. "Ding" Darling
J.N. "Ding" Darling was an American editorial cartoonist active in the first half the 20th century. His cartoons were published in the New York Globe and New York Herald Tribune, among others. This online collection is provided by Drake University.

Harper's Weekly (1857-1912) This link opens in a new window
This resource provides access to Harper's Weekly (1857-1912), America's leading 19th century illustrated newspaper, well-known for it's political and editorial cartoons. Search for political cartoons in this source by going to the search feature and selecting Cartoon from the Select Feature pull-down.

Library of Congress Collection of American Cartoon Prints
"This assemblage of more than 500 prints made in America during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries encompasses several forms of political art. Most of the prints are from the division's PC/US series, which consists of individually cataloged political cartoons and caricatures." Learn More...
Puck
An American satirical magazine from the latter part of the 19th century. Published many editorial cartoons and other comics. Access is via HathiTrust. Open a volume for a time period and browse contents or search within volumes once open.
Punch
A British satirical magazine published since the mid 19th century. Older issues can be accessed via HathiTrust. Open volume by volume and browse or search the resulting issues. UVM has microfilm and print editions for more recent years.
Thomas Nast Cartoons
Site that explores the work of Thomas Nast. Sections are arranged by themes and include short essays and numerous illustrations.

Finding More

Editorial Cartoons in Newspapers: Use the advanced search options in our historical newspaper databases to limit searches to editorial cartoons (papers provided by ProQuest all offer this option) . When doing this use as few search terms as possible or browse papers by date rather than searching. Note that not all editorial cartoons published will be in the online version due to copyright. If you encounter missing ediitorial cartoons while browsing, please consult microfilm editions. If you need help Ask a Librarian.