Cartooning Texas

Cartooning Texas presents a century of this state's history through a craft that is one of the nation's liveliest art forms. Few states have enjoyed as rich a history of political cartooning as the great state of Texas. William Sydney (O. Henry) Porter and his depiction of railroad graft, turn-of-the century Tobe Bateman and his trademark goat, Pulitzer Prize winner Ben Sargent--these cartoonists have helped readers understand what this country's changes would mean to them. Even the first cartoon known to have lampooned native son Lyndon Johnson appears in these pages. Their sometimes humorous, always pointed lines have appeared in the Austin American-Statesman, the Rolling Stone, the Houston Post, the Dallas Morning News, and other state papers. With deft movements of pen across page, they have portrayed the events and personalities that have shaped public life. Lone Star cartoonists have provided a record that will amuse and educate new generations of Texans as well as those who remember the originals. Maury B. Forman and Robert A. Calvert provide context and explanations for each cartoon and overviews of each decade's main developments in the art.

A collection of illustrated black-and-white engravings depicting the history of Texas from 1554 to 1900 presented chronologically and featuring a brief introduction to the historical background of each era.

Texas-shaped ashtrays, belt buckles, earrings, kitchen utensils--"Texas kitsch"--fill gift shops alongside highways and in airports. The Lone Star State's unmistakable shape is appropriated by advertisers to hawk everything from beans to automobiles inside Texas' borders and beyond. As a billboard-sized neon sign glowing atop a popular honkey-tonk, the Texas map illuminates the Fort Worth night sky, attracting tourists in search of a good time--and a share of the Texas experience. Over the years America's most recognizable state outline has become one of its most potent symbols, a metaphor for Texas popular culture. In the last decade, the private, commercial, and official use of the Texas map as cultural symbol has boomed. Richard V. Francaviglia identifies this current trend as "Tex-map mania," and contends that the Texas map as icon integrates geography with history--and gives shape to a mythic landscape and to abstracted notions of what Texas is and who Texans are. Written in a lively style that engages both the scholar and the general reader in a discussion of the power of symbol and the meaning and significance of a shared aesthetic, The Shape of Texas is at the crossroads of cartography and popular culture. Francaviglia uses more than one hundred illustrations in offering a provocative visual and written account of this important, yet much neglected, aspect of Texas history and the dynamics of a still emerging Texas identity.

Based on a 1912 publication about Texans who fought for the South in the Civil War, Texas Boys in Gray presents a collection of fascinating remembrances of those who were there. Sometimes humorous and sometimes heartbreaking, the experiences of these men are documented as a tribute to Texas war veterans. Texas Boys in Gray captures, in their own words, the patriotism, the fear, the confusion, the bravery, the terrible wounds, the desperate hunger, the camaraderie, the horrible prison conditions, and the joyful reunions that were all part of that historical time.

Welcome readers to the great state of Texas. The second largest state in the country, with the largest capitol building, there's so much to learn about the Lone Star State. From its rich Native American history, to the Mexican-American War, much has happened in Texas, and that's even before this book gets to the Wild West. Budding artists will draw and learn the sights and symbols of this amazing state, from the Bluebonnet state flower to the Alamo.

Renowned for his "brilliant legislative mind" and political oratory—as well as for bicycling to Congress in a rumpled white linen suit and bow tie—U.S. Congressman Bob Eckhardt was a force to reckon with in Texas and national politics from the 1940s until 1980. A liberal Democrat who successfully championed progressive causes, from workers' rights to consumer protection to environmental preservation and energy conservation, Eckhardt won the respect of opponents as well as allies. Columnist Jack Anderson praised him as one of the most effective members of Congress, where Eckhardt was a national leader and mentor to younger congressmen such as Al Gore. In this biography of Robert Christian Eckhardt (1913-2001), Gary A. Keith tells the story of Eckhardt's colorful life and career within the context of the changing political landscape of Texas and the rise of the New Right and the two-party state. He begins with Eckhardt's German-American family heritage and then traces his progression from labor lawyer, political organizer, and cofounder of the progressive Texas Observer magazine to Texas state legislator and U.S. congressman. Keith describes many of Eckhardt's legislative battles and victories, including the passage of the Open Beaches Act and the creation of the Big Thicket National Preserve, the struggle to limit presidential war-making ability through the War Powers Act, and the hard fight to shape President Carter's energy policy, as well as Eckhardt's work in Texas to tax the oil and gas industry. The only thorough recounting of the life of a memorable, important, and flamboyant man, Eckhardt also recalls the last great era of progressive politics in the twentieth century and the key players who strove to make Texas and the United States a more just, inclusive society.

This reference traces the historical background of editorial cartooning and presents works that chronicle the history and criticize the aesthetics of the art. It also describes anthologies and exhibition catalogs that reprint editorial cartoons, and provides a list of libraries, museums, and historical societies which house originals and photocopies or clippings of editorial cartoons. This expansive volume examines the American editorial cartoon from its beginnings in 1747 into the second Clinton administration. It fills a gap in the literature, providing comprehensive information on a field of growing interest to scholars and collectors. This reference guide studies the evolution of editorial cartooning and places it in its historical context and provides appreciation and criticism of the cartoons presented. In addition to political cartoons, underground, radical, and propaganda cartoons are also discussed in this volume. The appendixes offer important cross-reference tools such as a chronology and include listings of selected historical periodicals, theses, and dissertations covering political cartoons. This work will be of value to a broad spectrum of readers—from collectors to scholars—and is suitable for many fields of study.