Rudolph Dirks papers
name: label: Creator
content: Dirks, Rudolph
label: Names
content: Dirks, Gus
label: Names
content: Dirks, John, 1917-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Cartoonists -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers were lent for microfilming in 1974 by John Dirks, and returned after filming.
creator: label: Creator
content: Dirks, Rudolph
setName: label: See more items in
content: Rudolph Dirks papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of cartoonist and illustrator Rudolph Dirks date from 1895 to 1968. Found are letters to and about Dirks; photographs of the Dirks family and of works of art; works of art by Dirks, his son John Dirks and brother Gus Dirks; and printed material. Also found is a transcript of a court case regarding Dirks's publication rights.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Rudolph Dirks (1877-1968) was a cartoonist and illustrator in New York City, New York. Born in Germany, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois when he was a child. He moved to New York City after finding success selling cartoons and found work as an illustrator. He drew The Katzenjammer Kids from 1897 to 1912 and the simliar The Captain and the Kids until the 1950s when he gave creative control to his son, John Dirks. Rudolph Dirks died in 1968 in New York City.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Microfilm reel
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1895-1968
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.dirkrudo
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Microfilm reels
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the pre-existing microfilm arrangement, the collection is arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was microfilmed on Reel 854 and was returned to John Dirks after filming. The microfilm was described in a finding aid by Jayna Josefson in 2025 and the microfilm was digitized in 2025 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Information System (CIS) IRM Pool Fund.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The collection has been microfilmed on reel 854. The microfilm has been digitized and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
originalsloc: label: Existence and Location of Originals
content: Originals were returned to John Dirks after microfilming.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of cartoonist and illustrator Rudolph Dirks date from 1895 to 1968. Found are letters to and about Dirks; photographs of the Dirks family and of works of art; works of art by Dirks, his son John Dirks and brother Gus Dirks; and printed material. Also found is a transcript of a court case regarding Dirks's publication rights.