Editorial cartoonist Charles Henry 'Bill' Sykes (1882-1942) drew barbed political 
cartoons often loaded with complex political commentary on Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, Germany and Japan and other major actors on the international stage in the years before the United States entered World War II.
James Branch Cabell Library acquired this collection of original circa 1940 drawings in 1980. They are available for view in Special Collections and Archives. This month, they were released in a digital format, further augmenting access to Cabell's outstanding collection of comic arts. The online collection
Born in Alabama and graduated from Philadelphia's Drexel Institute in 1904, Sykes drew as a freelancer and then worked for newspapers. In 1914, he became the first and only editorial cartoonist for the Evening Public Ledger. It ceased publication in 1942, the same year Sykes died. Sykes also had working relationships with Life, Colliers and The New York Evening Post.
His most famous cartoon, "Madonna and Child A.D.1940," depicts the ugliness of war. The image is of a mother and child wearing gas masks. It was published on August 13, 1940--the first day of the Battle of Britain.
The Sykes Editorial Cartoon Collection consists of 297 original editorial cartoons, three unfinished sketches, a U.S. War Bond poster and a U.S. Victory poster. The cartoons focus on American reaction to the Axis powers in the 1930s and 1940s. Sykes created his early cartoons using the unusual patterns of coquille board for the shading effect. His later works were created with a crayon-and-wash technique.
The online collection
cartoons often loaded with complex political commentary on Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, Germany and Japan and other major actors on the international stage in the years before the United States entered World War II. James Branch Cabell Library acquired this collection of original circa 1940 drawings in 1980. They are available for view in Special Collections and Archives. This month, they were released in a digital format, further augmenting access to Cabell's outstanding collection of comic arts. The online collection
Born in Alabama and graduated from Philadelphia's Drexel Institute in 1904, Sykes drew as a freelancer and then worked for newspapers. In 1914, he became the first and only editorial cartoonist for the Evening Public Ledger. It ceased publication in 1942, the same year Sykes died. Sykes also had working relationships with Life, Colliers and The New York Evening Post.
His most famous cartoon, "Madonna and Child A.D.1940," depicts the ugliness of war. The image is of a mother and child wearing gas masks. It was published on August 13, 1940--the first day of the Battle of Britain.
The Sykes Editorial Cartoon Collection consists of 297 original editorial cartoons, three unfinished sketches, a U.S. War Bond poster and a U.S. Victory poster. The cartoons focus on American reaction to the Axis powers in the 1930s and 1940s. Sykes created his early cartoons using the unusual patterns of coquille board for the shading effect. His later works were created with a crayon-and-wash technique.
The online collection