University gains cartoon trove

The family of renowned cartoonist and illustrator Whitney Darrow, Jr. '31 recently donated more than 1,000 of his original cartoons to the University Library, adding breadth and depth to a collection already noted for its holdings in comic and satiric art.

The gift to the graphic arts collection in Firestone's rare books department, includes 325 drawings originally published in The New Yorker and 746 illustrations from Darrow's 18 books.

The donation is "in so many ways, a tremendous resource," graphic arts curator Julie Melby said. It brings the collection "upto date," and "shows how life in the United States has changed over 50 years."

Darrow, who died in 1999, was a columnist for The Daily Princetonian and the art editor of The Princeton Tiger, as well as a member of Tower Club and the men's crew. After graduating, he studied at the Art Students League while selling cartoons to magazines such as Life, Women's Day, Judge and College Humor.

In 1933 Darrow landed a job at the New Yorker, where he spent almost 50 years and published 1,500 cartoons.

In addition to drawing cartoons, Darrow also illustrated children's books and celebrity books, including Johnny Carson's "Happiness Is ... a Dry Martini." Before his death, Darrow published four collections of his works: "You're Sitting on My Eyelashes," "Give Up?" "Stop, Miss" and "Please Pass the Hostess."

Unlike many other cartoonists, Darrow wrote his own captions. His favorite subject for a humorous one-liner was the life of the upper-middle class. He often gently mocked the world in which he grew up, coming from Wilton, Conn.

"Whitney was my mentor, although he probably never knew, of course for the Princeton connection but also because he is one terrific cartoonist," Darrow's friend and New Yorker colleague Henry Martin '48 said.

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At one New Yorker event, Martin said he brought up the issue of where Darrow would leave his large collection. Darrow said he was leaving it to the Library of Congress, but Martin tried to persuade Darrow that the University was the place where the collection belonged.

The collection was left to Darrow's daughter, who gave it to the University.

The Darrow family has a tradition of involvement at the University. Whitney Darrow, Sr. Class of 1903 was a founder of the University Press Club.

Because of these ties, Melby said, the donation was "a perfect fit."