Overview
Drawings, sketches, self-portrait, proofs, and clippings of work by American cartoonist Thomas Nast.
Dates
- Creation: 1862-1896 and undated
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. Collection is open for research.
Extent
.25 linear feet (1 box)Includes: original ink and/or graphite drawings and cartoons, most signed by Thomas Nast; a self-portrait etching by Thomas Nast and a photomechanical print of Nast by photographer Zaida Ben-Yusuf; proofs of cartoons and drawings; and many printed clippings of cartoons and drawings by Nast from newspapers and periodicals. A few items include autograph manuscript annotations by donor Cyril Nast.
Biographical / Historical
Thomas Nast (1840-1902) was German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- I. Original cartoons and drawings
- II. Portraits
- III. Proofs of cartoons and drawings
- IV. Clippings of cartoons and drawings
Physical Location
pf
Immediate Source of Acquisition
43M-306, 43M-307, 43M-308, and 43M-309. Gift of Cyril Nast; received: 1943 November 20.
Processing Information
Processed by: Bonnie B. Salt
Processing Information
This finding aid was revised in 2022 to address racist descriptive language. During that revision, description was changed in the description of a single item. The derogatory term appears in a formal title and thus was not removed, but a contextual historical note as well as a processing information note explaining the term's presence were added to the item's description. If you have questions or comments about these revisions, please contact Houghton Library. For more information on reparative archival description at Harvard, see Harvard Library’s Statement on Harmful Language in Archival Description.
- Title
- Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902. Thomas Nast drawings and other papers, 1862-1896: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02342
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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