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Barks (Carl) Correspondence Collection
SC.CBC
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Carl Barks Correspondence Collection
Creator:
Barks, Carl, 1901-2000
Identifier/Call Number: SC.CBC
Extent:
0.42 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1963-1984
Abstract: Carl Barks started drawing for Walt
Disney in 1935. In 1943, he began drawing Disney stories for Western Printing and
Lithography which produced the Dell and Gold Key comic books. Barks retired from the Disney
Studio in 1966, but continued to script stories for Western throughout the 1980s.
Language of Material: English
Carl Barks (1901-2000) began working as an artist for the Walt Disney Studio in November,
1935. By 1937, Bark was transferred to the story board department where he worked on
animated cartoons. He left Disney in 1942 and moved to Hemet, California to start a chicken
farm. Barks's unsuccessful chicken farming venture led him to return full time to comic book
work. In 1943, he began drawing Disney stories for Western Printing and Lithography which
produced the Dell and Gold Key comic books.
He created Scrooge McDuck, the miserly uncle of Donald Duck, in 1947, Gladstone Gander in
1948, the Beagle Boys in 1951, and Gyro Gearloose, a self-portrait, in 1952. Barks retired
in 1966 at age of 65. He began painting his characters in 1968 which were in great demand
after 1976. This new income allowed him to purchase a home in Santa Barbara. Bark maintained
an active career until his late nineties and spent his last years in Grants Pass,
Oregon.
The
Carl Barks Correspondence Collection consists of over 70
letters written to Chase Craig and his colleagues at Western between 1964 and 1987. They
contain Carl Barks' story ideas, synopsis for Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck, and Junior
Woodchuck stories, and insights into his personal and financial life. The letters are
arranged in chronological order. The dates of the undated letters have been determined by
the publishing dates of the comic books discussed or other internal evidence that
corresponds to biographical information. These dates are enclosed in brackets.
Related Material
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Bruce Craig, 2003.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
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