Herbert Block A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress Prepared by Michael Spangler with the assistance of Nicholas Newlin, Carolyn Ray, and Chanté Wilson-Flowers Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2006 Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2008 Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms008073 Collection Summary Title: Herbert Block Papers Span Dates: 1863-2002 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1945-2001) ID No.: MSS84974 Creator: Block, Herbert, 1909-2001 Extent: 70,000 items; 204 containers plus 1 oversize; 82 linear feet Language: Collection material in English Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Abstract: Political cartoonist, author, and journalist. Correspondence, writings, speeches, interviews, clippings, cartoon reprints, and printed matter documenting principally Block's career at the Washington Post. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. Personal Names Auth, Tony--Correspondence. Barth, Alan--Correspondence. Block, Herbert, 1909-2001. Blumenthal, Frederick G.--Correspondence. Bradlee, Benjamin C.--Correspondence. Caniff, Milton Arthur, 1907-1998--Correspondence. Clinton, Bill, 1946---Correspondence. Dilliard, Irving, 1904-2002--Correspondence. Engelhardt, Tom, 1944---Correspondence. Ferry, W. H. (Wilbur Hugh)--Correspondence. Fischetti, John R.--Correspondence. Ford, Gerald R., 1913-2006--Correspondence. Gold, William E.--Correspondence. Graham, Donald E., b. 1945--Correspondence. Graham, Katharine, 1917-2001--Correspondence. Graham, Philip L., 1915-1963--Correspondence. Hill, Draper--Correspondence. Hoffman, Irving, 1909-1968--Correspondence. Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973--Correspondence. Johnston, Lynn Franks, 1947---Correspondence. Jones, Chuck, 1912-2002--Correspondence. Kelly, Walt--Correspondence. Lewis, Anthony, 1927---Correspondence. MacNelly, Jeff--Correspondence. McCune, Wesley, 1918---Correspondence. Meyer, Agnes Elizabeth Ernst, 1887-1970--Correspondence. Meyer, Eugene, 1875-1959--Correspondence. Osborn, Robert Chesley, 1904---Correspondence. Partymiller, Walt, 1911-1991--Correspondence. Peters, Charles, 1926---Correspondence. Rauh, Joseph L., 1911---Correspondence. Rosenblatt, Maurice--Correspondence. Rosenblatt, Roger--Correspondence. Shoemaker, Vaughn, 1902---Correspondence. Telnaes, Ann, 1960---Correspondence. Herbert Block Papers 2 Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972--Correspondence. Organizations Newspaper Enterprise Association. United States. Army. Subjects American newspapers--Illinois--Chicago. American newspapers--Ohio--Cleveland. American newspapers--Washington (D.C.) Chicago daily news. Washington post. Related Names Block, Herbert, 1909-2001. Herblock: A Cartoonist's Life (1993) Occupations Authors. Cartoonists. Journalists. Administrative Information Provenance: The papers of Herbert Block, political cartoonist, author, and journalist, were given to the Library of Congress by the Herb Block Foundation in 2002. Transfers: Most original drawings, prints, and photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division where they are identified as part of the Herbert Block Papers. Copyright Status: Copyright in the unpublished writings of Herbert Block in these papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress is reserved. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division for further information. Electronic Format: Digital versions of two Herbert Block exhibits are available on the Prints and Photographs Division home page of the Library of Congress Web site at http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-exhibits.html. Preferred Citation: Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Herbert Block Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Note Date Event 1909, Oct. 13 Born, Chicago, Ill. 1927-1929 Attended Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Ill. 1929-1933 Political cartoonist, Chicago Daily News, Chicago, Ill. Herbert Block Papers 3 1933-1943 Political cartoonist, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Cleveland, Ohio 1942 Awarded Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning 1943-1945 Drafted by the United States Army; stationed in Orlando, Fla., and New York, N.Y.; edited and contributed cartoons to military newspapers 1946-2001 Political cartoonist, Washington Post, Washington, D.C. 1950 Herblock Looks at Communismpamphlet published by United States Department of State in various languages and distributed internationally 1952 Published The Herblock Book. Boston: Beacon Press 1954 Awarded Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning 1957 Received Rueben Award for outstanding cartoonist of the year, National Cartoonists Society 1966 Designed United States postage stamp commemorating the 175th anniversary of the Bill of Rights 1968 Published The Herblock Gallery. New York: Simon and Schuster 1973 Shared in Pulitzer Prize for public service awarded to Washington Post for its investigation of the Watergate Affair 1974 Published Herblock Special Report. New York: Norton 1979 Awarded Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning 1984 Published Herblock through the Looking Glass. New York: Norton 1986 Received Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award for contributions to the cause of freedom of speech and the advancement of freedom of the press, Colby College, Waterville, Maine 1993 Published memoirs as Herblock: A Cartoonist's Life. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. 1994 Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom 2001, Oct. 7 Died, Washington, D.C. Scope and Content Note The papers of Herbert Lawrence Block (1909-2001) span the years 1863-2002, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1945-2001. The papers chiefly document Block's career as the political cartoonist “Herblock” for the Washington Post and as author of several books and complement the Herblock material in the Herbert L. Block Collection in the Prints and Photographs Division. The papers are organized in the following series: Correspondence File, Writings File, Miscellany, and Oversize. The Correspondence File represents Block's work with the Washington Post from 1946 to 2001 and contains letters exchanged with friends, cartoonists, editors, politicians, Supreme Court justices, government officials, publishers, journalists, activists, admirers, and detractors. Notable among the correspondents are cartoonists Tom Engelhardt, Chuck Jones, and Vaughan Herbert Block Papers 4 Shoemaker, who together reflect the breadth of Block's career, from his early work with the Chicago Daily News to his last days with the Washington Post. Their numerous exchanges with Block discuss various aspects of cartooning, colleagues, professional associations, politics, mutual admiration, and family and social activities. The file also includes material submitted by novice cartoonists who sought Block's advice or approbation. Other cartoonists represented in the correspondence include Tony Auth, Milton Caniff, John R. Fischetti, Draper Hill, Irving Hoffman (1909-1968), Lynn Franks Johnston, Walt Kelly, Jeff MacNelly, Robert Chesley Osborn, Walt Partymiller, and Ann Telnaes. Block's professional association with the owners and staff of the Washington Post is documented in the letters of Alan Barth, Benjamin C. Bradlee, William E. Gold, Philip L. Graham, Eugene Meyer, and Agnes Elizabeth Ernst Meyer, and notes and letters from Donald E. Graham and Katharine Graham also highlight personal relationships. His association with other journalists and editors is documented in exchanges with Frederick G. Blumenthal, Irving Dilliard, Anthony Lewis, Charles Peters (1926- ), and Roger Rosenblatt. Block's political inclinations are evinced in correspondence with lobbyists and activists such as W. H. Ferry, Wesley McCune, Joseph L. Rauh, and Maurice Rosenblatt, and by his activities documented in letters with related organizations. Similarly, numerous Democratic Party members are represented in the file primarily thanking Block for editorial support on various issues and congratulating him on his achievements. However, politicians from across the political spectrum routinely asked for autographed reprints of his cartoons. These admirers included Presidents Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald R. Ford, and Bill Clinton, who awarded Block the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994. Social activities among Washington's political and cultural circles are indicated by the many invitations he received. A small grouping of special correspondence contains readers' comments on cartoons or political issues, suggestions or ideas for cartoons, and book proposals from the late 1940s. The Writings File chiefly contains drafts, galleys, notes, cartoon reproductions, correspondence, background material, and other items related to various stages of production of Block's books. Typically, drafts were circulated among staff at the Washington Post for comments. Notable is the research material collected for his memoirs, Herblock: A Cartoonist's Life, which spans his entire career and includes reproductions of many early cartoons arranged by images depicted, subject, United States presidents, and date. The file also contains material related to abandoned book projects including “Herblock in Bush