Finch, Edwin (b. 1895) Drawings, 1943-1958, undated

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  Finch, Edwin, b. 1895

Title:  Drawings, 1943-1958, undated

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Curator of Special Collections.

Size of Collection:  794 items (14 wrapped packages)

Location Number:  Mss. A F492

Scope and Content Note

This collection is comprised of the drawings and cartoons of Edwin Finch, an artist for the Louisville Courier-Journal in the mid-twentieth century.  Included in the collection are 113 of Finch’s original political cartoons dating from the height of the Second World War.  Drawn in charcoal, these cartoons highlight both foreign and domestic concerns during World War II, with many poking fun at the Nazis and their leader Adolf Hitler. Also among Finch’s cartoons are a few original watercolors of the comic strip “Sergeant Cinch,” which feature the misadventures of a bumbling military sergeant.  In addition to cartoons, Finch also illustrated a series that appeared regularly in the Courier-Journal magazine section.  Called “Kentuckiana All Over,” the series featured amusing anecdotes from local history accompanied by Finch’s watercolors.  The Filson has 457 issues of this series.

 

Biographical Note

Edwin Finch was born in 1895 in Norwood, Ohio near Cincinnati.  As a young man, he enlisted in the military and served during World War I, attaining the rank of sergeant.  In the late 1930s, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky where he worked as an artist for the Louisville Courier-Journal.

 

Folder List

Package 1:           50 miscellaneous cartoons, (primarily watercolors), 1949, undated

Package 2:           38 miscellaneous cartoons (primarily watercolors), undated

Package 3:           27 miscellaneous cartoons (watercolors), undated

Package 4:           56 political cartoons (charcoal), 1943-1944

Package 5:           57 political cartoons (charcoal), 1943-1944

Package 6:           21 pictures of individual people (primarily pen and ink), 1949-1954, undated

Package 7:           7 installments of the comic strip “Sergeant Cinch” (watercolors), undated

Package 8:           35 drawings of miscellaneous scenes and groups of people; 1 picture of Phoenix Hill (watercolors, pen and ink sketches), 1949-1957, undated

Package 9:           45 drawings of miscellaneous scenes and groups of people (watercolors, pen and ink sketches), 1950-1954, undated

Package 10:        57 drawings of “Kentuckiana All Over” (watercolors), 1956, undated

Package 11:        100 drawings of “Kentuckiana All Over” (watercolors), 1951-1953, undated

Package 12:        100 drawings of “Kentuckiana All Over” (watercolors), 1954, undated

Package 13:        100 drawings of “Kentuckiana All Over” (watercolors), 1957-1958, undated

Package 14:        100 drawings of “Kentuckiana All Over” (watercolors), ca. 1950s