1952 White Manuscript Political Cartoon, Early Anti-Cancer Campaign

An Early Strike against Cancer

This is a 1952 George White manuscript cartoon map of the United States that was the basis for a published version that appeared in The Tampa Tribune. The cartoon deals with an early nationwide anti-cancer awareness and fundraising campaign by the American Cancer Society (ACS).

A Closer Look

The image depicts the United States as viewed from the Caribbean with a large octopus representing cancer looming over the country. A sword labelled 'the fight against cancer' held by an arm labelled 'our contributions' (i.e. to the ACS campaign) lops off one of the octopus' tentacles.

The 'Cancer Crusade'

The American Cancer Society has roots going back to the early 1910s and has frequently invoked imagery of the Crusades (as in the sword in its logo, referred to in White' cartoon) to reflect its commitment to fight for its beliefs, even against steep odds. By the late 1940s, the organization had established a noticeable national presence and in 1952 organized a particularly successful information and fundraising campaign. The ACS secured a Presidential Proclamation, a Congressional Act, and proclamations by several governors (including California's Earl Warren, soon to be a very consequential Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court) declaring April 1952 as Cancer Control Month. More generally, the organization referred to their 1952 campaign as a 'Cancer Crusade.' The ACS set (and met) an ambitious nationwide goal of raising $16 million to raise cancer awareness, in particular to educate the public about warning signs and the importance of early testing.

That year was also significant for the ACS because it also saw the launch of the Hammond-Horn Study, arguably one of the most important epidemiological studies in history, which followed 188,000 men who smoked cigarettes over the next three years to track their mortality (the study later expanded to include women and tracked over one million people). The resulting research convincingly established a connection between smoking cigarettes, lung cancer and coronary heart disease, and mortality, kicking off a process that has led to significantly decreased use of cigarettes among the American public, from nearly 50 percent of adults in the early 1950s to roughly 11 percent today. The Hammond-Horn Study was the earliest of several very large and important cohort studies (Cancer Prevention Studies) undertaken by the ACS.

Publication History and Census

This manuscript cartoon map was prepared by cartoonist George White in April 1952. A published version appeared on the front page of The Tampa Tribune on Monday, April 21, 1952. Though it was later published, the present work - a draft drawn by the artist's own hand - is an entirely unique manuscript work.

Cartographer

George White (1901 - March 7, 1964) was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and relocated to Tampa with this family in 1915. White studied art under Tampa artist Walter Collins and began work as a commercial artist at the Tampa Morning Tribune in 1928 and by 1934 was a regular cartoonist at the Tribune. Rather unconventionally, the paper featured his cartoons on the front page. His work displays the evolving course of America's domestic and geopolitics from the interwar period, through World War II, and into the Cold War.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good.. Manuscript.