The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is located on The Ohio State University campus, and is a must-see for comic and cartoon lovers.
The library and museum holds the world’s largest collection of materials related to comics and cartoons, including original art, books, magazines, journals, comic books, archival materials, and newspaper comic strip pages and clippings..
The museum is open to the public and admission is free!
The current exhibitions are:
Man Saves Comics! Bill Blackbeard’s Treasure of 20th Century Newspapers
November 12, 2022 – May 7, 2023
Twenty-five years ago, six semi-trucks arrived at The Ohio State University. They contained the world’s most comprehensive collection of newspaper comic strips and cartoons, totaling 75 tons of material. Bill Blackbeard, a comics historian, and collector, had amassed this vast and unparalleled collection in his San Francisco home starting in 1967.
Discarded by libraries in favor of microfilm, these invaluable historical documents provide a unique view of popular culture at the start of the 20th century, when illustrated newspaper pages and comic strips were at the heart of visual culture and communication.
The Art Of The News: Comics Journalism
November 12, 2022 – May 7, 2023
Curated by University of Oregon comics studies professor Katherine Kelp-Stebbins, with associate curator and director of comics studies Professor Ben Saunders, The Art of the News is the first major retrospective devoted to this influential genre. The exhibition spotlights original artwork representing over thirty years of reportage by an international group of artists who have developed comics journalism and are pushing the genre in new directions
Visiting Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum
Reservations are recommended for museum, but not required. Walk-ins may have to wait if the museum is at capacity.
Monday – Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday – Sunday: 1:00-5:00 PM. Closed on July 4.
Please see website regarding closures for exhibition installations, parking, and more.
Please note that you will be asked to place coats, backpacks, large purses and bags, and umbrellas in designated areas at the entrance to the galleries or in lockers provided in the gallery or on the main floor.
Library Reading Room Hours
Appointments are required for The Lucy Shelton Caswell Reading Room to ensure material can be prepared in advance. Do not visit until you receive your appointment date and time confirmation. As a special collections library, their stacks are not open for browsing. Visitors must request items from the stacks in advance.
Email cartoons@osu.edu to schedule an appointment.
The Ohio State University
110 Sullivant Hall
1813 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43210
614.292.0538
email: cartoons@osu.edu
website: cartoons.osu.edu
blog: http://library.osu.edu/blogs/cartoons/
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Special Events at Billy Ireland
TBA for 2023
Family Day: Celebrating Sparky
Saturday, June 25, 2022 from 1-5 pm.
Join the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum for an afternoon of activities and fun for all ages! The new exhibit Celebrating Sparky: Charles M. Schulz and Peanuts honors the life and career of Schulz and marks the centennial of his birth.
Visit on June 25 from 1-5 pm for a reception including a curator tour of the exhibition, activities for kids, a cartooning workshop taught by the Schulz Museum, and Snoopy’s favorite: root beer and chocolate chip cookies!
1:15 pm: Curator tour of Celebrating Sparky in the galleries with Lucy Shelton Caswell
2:00 pm: Peanuts and the Art of Cartooning workshop: This live, interactive experience includes an introduction to Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts, and the Schulz Museum followed by a guided drawing of several of Schulz’s most popular characters. Participants will need paper, pencil, eraser, and their imagination as they learn to draw Snoopy and other Peanuts characters along with the basics of drawing different emotions and using the visual language of cartoons to tell stories.
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Book Sale
tba for 2023 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
It’s back-to-school season, and it’s time to fill up your bookshelves at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Book Sale.
They selling duplicate items from the collection. Items range from $2-$20. All proceeds help with the collections.
Sale includes:
Graphic novels
Comic books
Comic strip reprint books
Humor magazines
Comic and cartoon art history books
and much, much more.
Please plan to bring a bag or box for carrying home your great finds!
For more information email cartoonevents@osu.edu
The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum will extend the museum hours so attendees can browse the current exhibit while visiting until 7:00 PM.
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
1813 N. High St
Columbus, OH 43210
614-292-0538
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