Harold Maples Editorial Cartoon Collection
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The collection consists entirely of original editorial cartoons by Harold Maples published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from 1954 through 1981. The drawings measure approximately 11x17" and are done in pencil on heavy paper. Maples gave brief titles and dated most of the drawings. The collection is arranged chronologically.
Maples covered a wide variety of local, national, and international topics in his work. He addressed major events of the late 20th century such as the Cold War, U.S. diplomacy, the Space Race with the Soviet Union, the Kennedy Assassination, LBJ's Great Society, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, Mideast Peace Talks, Watergate, and the Iran Hostage Crisis among others. Maples also addressed issues such as education, auto safety, jobs and unemployment, government spending, gun control, voter apathy, and dependence on foreign oil. Maples also tackled local issues and events such as the Fort Worth Stock Show, Fort Worth city government, state government, local businesses and economy, Texas weather, and college and professional sports teams.
Dates
- 1954-1981
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Summary Biography
Harold Maples was editorial cartoonist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for 27 years. From 1954 until his death in 1981, Maples drew more than 7,000 cartoons for the paper's editorial page. These editorial cartoons from 1954 through 1981 are the body Maples' work and covered the major local, national, and international events of the late 20th century.
Detailed Biography
Harold Maples was born in Pettit, Texas in 1925. He was raised in Snyder and Dermott and graduated from Fluvanna High School, where he played football and basketball. Maples served in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific from 1943 to 1946. After his military service, he enrolled in McMurry College in Abilene, where he studied art. Later, Maples moved to Dallas, where he continued to study art at the Dallas Art Institute (under Olin Travis) and the American School of Commercial Art. Maples sold early editorial Cartoons to the Abilene Reporters-News and the Snyder Daily News. After working freelance, he became the editorial cartoonist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 1954. For 27 years, Maples drew more than 7,000 editorial cartoons for the paper. Known nationally for his skillfully executed drawings, he gave each a distinctive Texas flavor.
No subject was too mundane or too important for Maples. He addressed local, national, and international topics such as the beginning of a new school year, threats to world peace, impending drought, auto safety, the Cold War, LBJ's Great Society, jobs prospects for new college graduates; government spending, relations with China, the Fort Worth Stock Show, the Vietnam War, race relations, U.S. diplomacy, the Space Race with the Soviet Union, presidential politics; gun control, the Mideast Peace Talks, voter apathy, Watergate, the Nixon impeachment hearings, the Iran Hostage Crisis, dependence on foreign oil, and the Texas weather, with equal humor, skill, and imagination.
Harold Maples died in 1981. The collection was a gift of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 1982.
Extent
53.50 Linear feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Original drawings of Harold Maples' editorial cartoons published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 1954 through 1981.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged chronologically.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 1982.
- American wit and humor, Pictorial. Subject Source: {:aat=>"Art & Architecture Thesaurus", :cash=>"Canadian Subject Headings", :gmgpc=>"TGM II, Genre and physical characteristic terms", :ingest=>"Unspecified ingested source", :lcgft=>"Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms", :lcsh=>"Library of Congress Subject Headings", :lcshac=>"Library of Congress Children's Subject Headings", :local=>"Local sources", :mesh=>"Medical Subject Headings", :nal=>"National Agricultural Library subject headings", :ram=>"Répertoire d'autorités RAMEAU", :rbgenr=>"Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing", :rvm=>"Répertoire de vedettes-matière", :tgn=>"Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names"}
- Editorial cartoons Subject Source: {:aat=>"Art & Architecture Thesaurus", :cash=>"Canadian Subject Headings", :gmgpc=>"TGM II, Genre and physical characteristic terms", :ingest=>"Unspecified ingested source", :lcgft=>"Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms", :lcsh=>"Library of Congress Subject Headings", :lcshac=>"Library of Congress Children's Subject Headings", :local=>"Local sources", :mesh=>"Medical Subject Headings", :nal=>"National Agricultural Library subject headings", :ram=>"Répertoire d'autorités RAMEAU", :rbgenr=>"Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing", :rvm=>"Répertoire de vedettes-matière", :tgn=>"Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names"}
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram Subject Source: {:aat=>"Art & Architecture Thesaurus", :cash=>"Canadian Subject Headings", :gmgpc=>"TGM II, Genre and physical characteristic terms", :ingest=>"Unspecified ingested source", :lcgft=>"Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms", :lcsh=>"Library of Congress Subject Headings", :lcshac=>"Library of Congress Children's Subject Headings", :local=>"Local sources", :mesh=>"Medical Subject Headings", :nal=>"National Agricultural Library subject headings", :ram=>"Répertoire d'autorités RAMEAU", :rbgenr=>"Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing", :rvm=>"Répertoire de vedettes-matière", :tgn=>"Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names"}
- United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989 Subject Source: {:aat=>"Art & Architecture Thesaurus", :cash=>"Canadian Subject Headings", :gmgpc=>"TGM II, Genre and physical characteristic terms", :ingest=>"Unspecified ingested source", :lcgft=>"Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms", :lcsh=>"Library of Congress Subject Headings", :lcshac=>"Library of Congress Children's Subject Headings", :local=>"Local sources", :mesh=>"Medical Subject Headings", :nal=>"National Agricultural Library subject headings", :ram=>"Répertoire d'autorités RAMEAU", :rbgenr=>"Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing", :rvm=>"Répertoire de vedettes-matière", :tgn=>"Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names"}
- United States -- Social Conditions -- 20th century Subject Source: {:aat=>"Art & Architecture Thesaurus", :cash=>"Canadian Subject Headings", :gmgpc=>"TGM II, Genre and physical characteristic terms", :ingest=>"Unspecified ingested source", :lcgft=>"Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms", :lcsh=>"Library of Congress Subject Headings", :lcshac=>"Library of Congress Children's Subject Headings", :local=>"Local sources", :mesh=>"Medical Subject Headings", :nal=>"National Agricultural Library subject headings", :ram=>"Répertoire d'autorités RAMEAU", :rbgenr=>"Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing", :rvm=>"Répertoire de vedettes-matière", :tgn=>"Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names"}
- Author
- Compiled by Rachel Reeves
- Date
- March 2014
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Archives and Special Collections, Mary Couts Burnett Library Repository
TCU Box 298400
2800 S. University Drive
Fort Worth, Texas 76129-0001
Fort Worth Texas 76129
(817) 257-4566
(817) 257-7282 (Fax)
LibSpecialCollections@tcu.edu
