Guide to the John Tinney McCutcheon Cartoons, 1895-1946

John Tinney McCutcheon, born May 6, 1870, in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, graduated from Purdue University in 1889 and moved to Chicago to work for the Chicago Morning News, later called the Chicago Record. While working for the successors of that paper, he covered the conflict in the Philippines and the Boer War in South Africa. He joined the staff of the Chicago Tribune in 1903, subsequently drawing editorial cartoons on a daily basis. He traveled widely, covering various political events. He served as the editorial cartoonist for the paper until 1946, receiving a Pulitzer Prize for his 1931 editorial cartoon, “A Wise Economist Asks a Question.” His cartoon entitled “Injun Summer,” first run in 1912, has been reprinted by various papers for decades. He received many honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Humaine Letters from Northwestern University in 1943. Subjects of his cartoons include foreign affairs, national and local political issues, journalism and the press, as well as general themes such as baseball, poverty, auto accidents, etc. National and international issues dominate after the advent of World War I. McCutcheon died on June 10, 1949 in Lake Forest, Illinois. Close personal friends included Vice-President of the U.S. and Chicago banker, Charles G. Dawes, and cartoonist George Ade with whom he collaborated on several volumes of caricatures.

• NamesMcCutcheon, John T. (John Tinney), 1870-1949
• Subject
  • American wit and humor, Pictorial
  • Caricatures and cartoons

After the death of John T. McCutcheon, Mrs. McCutcheon distributed his archive of original cartoons among three institutions, Northwestern University Library and the Medill School of Journalism, the Chicago Historical Society, and the Newberry Library. All 454 drawings which were given to Northwestern University in 1956 are now held by the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections.

The McCutcheon cartoons were organized in 1982 by Steven Gish and Brian Davies; the original finding aid was prepared by Brian Davies. In 2003 Jeffrey Ellis organized the undated cartoons by subjects and chronological eras, and added an inventory of them to the finding aid.

Available for research. Copyright for materials resides with John T. McCutcheon's executor. All users must comply with federal copyright regulations.

John Tinney McCutcheon Cartoons, 1895-1946, Prints and Drawings Series I, Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections, Northwestern University Library

The collection of John Tinney McCutcheon Cartoons, 1895-1946 includes 454 original drawings by McCutcheon, most of which appeared on the editorial page of the Chicago Tribune. Subjects of his cartoons include foreign affairs, national and local political issues, journalism and the press, as well as general themes such as baseball, poverty, auto accidents, etc. National and international issues dominate after the advent of World War I. Published volumes held by the McCormick Library which contain McCutcheon cartoons include: War Cartoons by McCutcheon, Orr, Parrish [and] Somdal, [Chicago, c1942]; Cartoons by McCutcheon; A Selection of One Hundred Drawings, (Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1903); The Cartoons That Made Prince Henry Famous; and printed in the Chicago Record-Herald, (Chicago, 1902?). See the Northwestern University Library online catalog for other books with McCutcheon illustrations, including those which were collaborations with George Ade.

The collection of John Tinney McCutcheon Cartoons, 1895-1946 includes 454 original drawings by McCutcheon, most of which appeared on the editorial page of the Chicago Tribune. Subjects of his cartoons include foreign affairs, national and local political issues, journalism and the press, as well as general themes such as baseball, poverty, auto accidents, etc. National and international issues dominate after the advent of World War I. Published volumes held by the McCormick Library which contain McCutcheon cartoons include: War Cartoons by McCutcheon, Orr, Parrish [and] Somdal, [Chicago, c1942]; Cartoons by McCutcheon; A Selection of One Hundred Drawings, (Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1903); The Cartoons That Made Prince Henry Famous; and printed in the Chicago Record-Herald, (Chicago, 1902?). See the Northwestern University Library online catalog for other books with McCutcheon illustrations, including those which were collaborations with George Ade.