Description: Cartoonist Billy Ireland drew this self-caricature, which was from "Accountants Reports and Exhibits," a publication of the American Association of Public Accountants for a meeting held in St. Paul, Minnesota, in October 1907. Ireland portrays himself as an impish figure wearing a plaid suit and a bowler hat, smoking a cigar, and having a pencil tucked behind his left ear. He's carrying a large bottle of ink in his right hand, a briefcase in the other hand, and a large cartoon tucked under his left arm. The briefcase bears a sign that reads: "'Billie Ireland' Official Cartoonist of 'The Ohio Society' 'Meet Me in St. Paul.'" A sign labeled "To St. Paul" is posted next to the railroad tracks down which Ireland is walking. William Addison "Billy" Ireland was born in 1880 in Chillicothe, Ohio. A self-taught artist, Ireland was hired after high school graduation by the "Columbus Dispatch" and spent his entire career with that newspaper until his death on May 29, 1935. Ireland drew editorial cartoons, but he is best known for "The Passing Show," a full-page cartoon strip published in the Sunday edition of the "Dispatch." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05768
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Cartoons (Commentary)--1900-1910; Cartoonists; Ireland, Billy, 1880-1935
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated June 30, 1912, this Billy Ireland cartoon page from the Columbus Dispatch advertises and praises the Republican Glee Club of Columbus, Ohio. The large caricature featured is that of Glee Club Director Karl Hoenig. The scene in the lower right corner highlights prominent individuals of the time who would be amazed by the Club's performance, such as Simon Guggenheim, Princess Alice, and Richard Harding Davis. The Republican Glee Club formed in Columbus, Ohio, when a group of men who enjoyed singing formed a group to campaign for presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant in the 1872 presidential election against Horace Greeley. The group of singers originally called themselves the Grant and Wilson Glee Club, always changing their name to support the candidate the group was endorsing. By 1885, the Glee Club supported state and local races too, and in 1895 permanently changed the club's name to the Republican Glee Club. The Republican Glee Club Collection includes sheet music and songbooks, organizational records, historical information, event programs, and photographs. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS1441AV_B13_F12_1
Subjects: Republican Glee Club; Republican Party; Political clubs; Choirs (Music); Ireland, Billy, 1880-1935; Newspapers; Cartoons
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio);
 

Description: Cartoonist Billy Ireland at his desk at the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1910-1930. Ireland entertained readers with his full page, color comic strip "The Passing Show," which ran in the Sunday edition of the newspaper from 1908 to 1935. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01773
Subjects: Ireland, Billy, 1880-1935; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Cartoonists; Newspapers
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Cartoonist Billy Ireland looking out the window from his office at the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1910-1930. Ireland entertained readers with his full page, color comic strip "The Passing Show," which ran in the Sunday edition of the newspaper from 1908 to 1935. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01774
Subjects: Ireland, Billy, 1880-1935; Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Cartoonists; Newspapers
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio);
 

Description: A cartoon titled "We'll Get That Bear Yet!" by William A. "Billy" Ireland that appeared in the Columbus Dispatch, on p. 5 of The Ohio State University Monthly, vol. 12, no. 5, February 1921. The cartoon depicts the Ohio Stadium as a bear trap, with the character of Christopher Columbus (a common depiction of the capital city in Ireland's work) saying to a character labeled "The Football Team," "One of these days we'll try to coax him to step into this!" View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05127
Subjects: Sports; Ireland, Billy, 1880-1935; Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Ohio State University--Football.; Cartoonists; Ohio State Buckeyes (Football team)
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)