Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Biography
Scope and Content
Organization and Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Frank Beck Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1918-1960
Collection number: 233
Creator:
Beck, Frank, 1893-1962
Extent: 23 boxes (11.5 linear ft.)
34 oversize boxes
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Frank Beck (1893-1962) was an artist who created the cartoon strips
Down the road (1920-36),
Hem and Amy (1926-37),
All in a lifetime (1935-62), and
Bo (1940-56). The collection consists of Beck's cartoon strips, original ink drawings, proof sheets, clippings, printed ephemera,
correspondence and photographs.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Marion Beck, 1964.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Frank Beck Papers (Collection 233). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
462322
Biography
Frank Beck was born in 1893 in Tacoma, Washington; was staff artist for the Tacoma High School yearbook; enrolled at University
of California at Berkeley in 1912, but left to attend classes at the Chicago Art Institute; joined advertising department
at Cadillac in Detroit, Michigan; illustrator of
New York Tribune Automobile Section; after serving in World War I, began first cartoon strip,
Down the road (1920-36); other cartoon strips included
Hem and Amy (1926-37),
All in a lifetime (1935-62), and
Bo (1940-56); died in San Diego, California, 1962.
Biographical Narrative
Frank Beck was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1898. As a young boy, he attended Tacoma public schools and First Methodist Episcopal
Sunday School. He then entered Tacoma high School where he was staff artist for the school yearbook,
The Tacoma. After high school graduation in 1912, Beck enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, but left there to attend
classes at the Chicago Art Institute.
In 1917, Beck began his career as a professional illustrator when he joined the advertising department of the Cadillac Motor
Company Detroit. His next job, illustrator of the
New York Tribune Automobile Section, enabled him to polish his cartooning style. However, World War I interevened and Beck became staff artist
for the U.S. Army's Evacuation Ambulance Company no.2.
After the war, Beck returned to civilian life and began a new career as a cartoonist for the newspaper syndicates. His first
strip, a weekly panel entitled, Down the Road featuring Mr. and Mrs. Bumpo's Gas Buggies which became Hem and Amy, a daily
strip concerning the joys and tribulations of marriage and child raising, appeared from 1926 to 1937. Beck drew heavily upon
his own family experiences for this strip.
In 1935, Beck introduced Beck's Daily Cartoon which soon became All in a Lifetime, a daily single panel cartoon about life:
recollections of the good old days, the absurdities of neighbors, young love, etc. Often his recollections of life in Tacoma
appeared in these cartoons which remained in syndication until Beck's death. Bo, a daily strip about the adventures of a dog
and his human family, began in 1950 and continued until 1956.
In addition to his long career as a syndicated cartoonist, Beck was a member of the National Cartoonists Society, the Kiwanis
Club, and the San Diego Humane Society. In 1924, Frank and Marian Beck moved to San Diego where they raised their two daughters,
Barbara and Nancy, and were active members of the community. In 1939, the family moved to New Canaan, Connecticut. The Becks
returned to San Diego in 1951, and remained there until Frank Beck died in 1962.
The collection reflects Beck's entire career: the various cartoon strips, containing original ink drawings, proof sheets,
publicity, clippings, and related ephemera; his work/clipping files; correspondence; and photographs.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of cartoon strips, original ink drawings, proof sheets, clippings, and printed ephemera related to the
work of cartoonist Frank Beck. Also includes correspondence and photographs.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- Comics.
- Correspondence.
- Ephemera.
- Organizations.
- Photographs.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Beck, Frank, 1893-1962--Archives.
Cartoonists--United States--Archival resources.
Cartoons (Humorous images).
Drawings.