Glenn R. Bernhardt Collection

Finding aid created by Harrison Memorial Library staff using RecordEXPRESS
Harrison Memorial Library
P.O. Box 800
Mission St & 6th Ave
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California 93921
(831) 624-1615
hml.localhist@gmail.com
https://ci.carmel.ca.us/library
2021


Descriptive Summary

Title: Glenn R. Bernhardt Collection
Dates: 1964-1990
Collection Number: B476
Creator/Collector: Bernhardt, Glenn R. Barnes, Robert L. Wright, Larry
Extent: 1 archival box
Repository: Harrison Memorial Library
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California 93921
Abstract: This collection contains comic strips from three cartoonists: Glen R. Bernhart, Larry Wright and Bob Barnes, including the comic strips "The Better Half" and “Kit’n’Carlyle”, as well as issues of the quarterly journal “Cartoonist Profiles”.
Language of Material: English

Access

Materials are open for research.

Publication Rights

The Henry Meade Local History Room, Harrison Memorial Library does not hold copyright to these items. Permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder by the user.

Preferred Citation

Glenn R. Bernhardt Collection. Harrison Memorial Library

Acquisition Information

Donated by Glenn R. Bernhardt and Mary Lou Bernhardt.

Biography/Administrative History

Robert L. “Bob” Barnes was born on March 8, 1913 in Portland, Oregon. He sold his first cartoon at the age of twelve. Barnes worked a variety of jobs over the years, including selling sewing machines and doing public relations work for California Shipbuilding during World War II. In 1947, he got his big break with his first cartoon sale to the Saturday Evening Post. He was contracted with the magazine for fifteen years. Barnes went on to create “The Better Half” in 1956, which he drew for the Register and the Tribune Syndicate. “The Better Half” is a comic strip featuring the characters Harriet and Stanley Parker. Bob Barnes created this comic strip in 1956 and it was syndicated and appeared daily in the Monterey Bay Herald, as well as over 200 other newspapers. In 1958, it was awarded the Best Cartoon Panel from the National Cartoonists Society. In 1960 he and his wife, Ruth, moved to Carmel Valley. Barnes died on November 12, 1970 at his home in Laguna Seca Ranch Estates. His wife continued drawing “The Better Half.” Glenn R. Bernhardt was born in St. Paul Minnesota. He studied art at the Minneapolis Art Institute and later at the San Francisco Institute of Advertising Art. On his first try, the Saturday Evening Post bought two of his cartoons and his career as a comic artist was born. He also published in such works as “Better Homes,” “Monterey Life,” and the Wall Street Journal. He has two books: Cartoons/Bernhardt and How to Put Fun in Your Sex Life. Bernhardt lives with his wife Mary Lou in Carmel. Larry Wright has been drawing cartoons since the age of ten, when he drew comic books for his friends in Detroit, Michigan. Wright studied Chinese and in the army was sent to Okinawa as an interpreter. In Japan, he drew the comic strip “Uncle Milton” for the Okinawa Morning Star. After returning to the Detroit area, Wright worked for eleven years for the Detroit Press and then moved to the Detroit News. Wright began his first syndicated comic, “Wright Angels,” in 1977. “Kit’n’Carlyle” has been in worldwide syndication since 1980. Carlyle, the cat in “Kit’n’Carlyle,” was originally modeled after Motley Wright’s daughters cat who was a character in “Wright’s Angels.” Wright is past president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. “Cartoonist Profiles,” included in this collection, is a quarterly journal of the comic arts professional. As of 2010 it has been in publication for 38 years. The journal chronicles the success stories of currently syndicated cartoonists in their own words. The publication is edited and published by Jud Hurd, a syndicated comic artist.

Scope and Content of Collection

This collection contains: the comic strip “The Better Half” by Bob Barnes, various pieces from 1964-1965; comics by Glenn R. Bernhardt, untitled and undated; the comic strip “Kit’n’Carlyle” by Larry Wright, various pieces from 1988; and miscellaneous issues of “Cartoonist Profiles” from between 1982-1990.

Indexing Terms

Cartoonists

Additional collection guides