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Comic Books and Graphic Resources at the New York Public Library: Collection Highlights

Collection Highlights

The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck. Brother Jonathan Extra. September 14, 1842. New York: Wilson & Co., 1842-1843. Considered to be the first comic book published in America, The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck was created by the Swiss caricaturist Rodolphe Töpffer in 1827. It was published in America within a supplement of the New York newspaper, Brother Jonathan.

The Picture Collection offers a variety of visual references for anyone looking for inspiration. For further information, please visit their website at: https://www.nypl.org/about/divisions/wallach-division/picture-collection

The New York Public Library, Rare Book Division has an extensive collection of comic books, published between 1933 to 2010. To view the pdf with detailed descriptions of titles owned, please visit the following url: http://archives.nypl.org/rbk/22832#access_use
- Access to their collection is restricted, please register in advance at: https://www.nypl.org/help/email-a-librarian/rare-books-division

The General Research Division holds numerous color microfiche reproductions of comic books. Emphasis has been placed on acquiring reprints in both microform and print formats, due to the complexity of obtaining original comic books. For further information, please contact the division at: generalresearch@nypl.org