Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
W.R. (Bill) Friday Papers, 1972-2018
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Friday, W.R., 1942-
- Title
- W.R. (Bill) Friday Papers
- Dates
- 1972-2018 (inclusive)19722018
- Quantity
- 2.5 linear ft.
- Collection Number
- XOE_CPNWS0010friday (collection)
- Summary
- The collection includes original and duplicate copies of cartoons, published and unpublished works, advertisements, and correspondence documenting the career of Bend, Oregon cartoonist W.R.(Bill) Friday.
- Repository
-
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
W.R. (Bill) Friday was born in Pendleton, Oregon in 1942. He has been cartooning for almost 50 years. In 1953, he and his two older brothers along with several neighbor kids produced a neighborhood paper called the “Snooper Review.” Friday’s cartooning career began on the pages of that gossip sheet. His cartoons have since appeared in publications and exhibits worldwide, from Portland, Oregon to Saint Petersburg, Russia, winning state, regional and national awards and recognition. In 1984, Friday won a Scholastic Magazine Award for an educational computer disk entitled “A Children’s Word Game.”
Cartoons by Friday have appeared on HBO TV, in Life Magazine and on TV news programs in Eugene, Oregon. He has taught drawing, painting, cartooning, and been an Artist-in-Residence for the District 4-J schools in Eugene. He was self-syndicated for a short time in the early 1990s with gag writer Brad Cook. Together their political cartoons appeared in about twenty small western papers. Other cartoons by Bill appeared in the Bend Bulletin, the Eugene Register Guard, the Klammath Falls Herald News, the McKenzie Weekly, Old Oregon Magazine, the Sagebrush News, the cover of Earthwatch Oregon, and American Timberman and Trucker. Bill Friday lives in Bend, Oregon, spending his summers living in a forest fire lookout tower.
References: Friday, William R.The Thin Black Line: 30 Years of Cartooning.Bend, Oregon:Podunk Press,1999.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The W.R. (Bill) Friday Papers contain correspondence, cartoons, artwork, advertising, published and unpublished materials created by Oregon cartoonist, William R. Friday. The collection spans the years 1972-2018, documenting Friday’s career as a cartoonist. The correspondence includes letters sent to Friday’s brother, Harlow, and his nephew Chris. Letters contain examples of his artwork, including note cards sent to Chris, and drafts of cartoons sent to Harlow that were later included in advertising work done for Harlow and Anna at their State Farm Insurance Agency. Researcher should note that copies of Friday's cartoons are included among his correspondence.
Published materials include his 1999 book entitled The Thin Black Line: 30 Years of Cartooning, two calendars depicting his artwork, and a coloring book. Unpublished works include examples of artwork depicting old model cars and corresponding backgrounds, as well as two stories written by Friday that illustrate his experiences at forest fire guard stations. The bulk of the collection comprises cartoons drawn by Friday that were featured in various publications, as well as in his book. They span the years 1973-1999, and are mostly original works, with some photocopies included. The final series in the collection contains works published by people other than William R. Friday. Included are a book written by Anna Friday (sister-in-law), illustrated by William R. Friday, and a book about ranger stations and forest fire lookouts by Les Joslin. This book contains an inscription to Bill Friday, and is signed by the author.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Collection materials are restricted from commercial publication until January 1, 2025.
Preferred Citation
W.R. (Bill) Friday Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The W.R. (Bill) Friday Papers are organized in accordance with the following series arrangement:
- Series I: Correspondence, 1989-2009
- Series II: Cartoons, 1973-2005; undated
- Series III: Advertising, 1987-2002
- Series IV: Published Works, 1984-2018
- Series V: Unpublished Works, 1994-1999
- Series VI: Publications by Others, 1972-2007
- Series VII: Maps circa 1929-1991
- Series VIII: Audio-visual materials, 2007
Custodial History
William R. Friday donated the bulk of the collection to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies on 23 June, 1999.
Processing Note
Amber Raney processed the collection and created a finding aid for the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in September, 2003.
Processing Note
About Harmful Language and ContentTo learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Series I: Correspondence, 1989-2009Return to Top
* Some Correspondence Contains Cartoons
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | Outgoing to Harlow Friday (brother) |
1989-2000 |
| 1/2 | Outgoing to Chris Friday (nephew) |
1999-2009 |
| 1/3 | Outgoing to Friday Family |
1998-2010 |
Series II: Cartoons, 1973-2005Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/4 | Cartoons |
1973-1979 |
| 1/5 | Cartoons |
1980 |
| 1/6 | Cartoons |
1983 |
| 1/7 | Cartoons |
1984 |
| 1/8 | Cartoons |
1985-1986 |
| 1/9 | Cartoons |
1987 |
| 1/10 | Cartoons on notecards |
1987 |
| 1/11 | Cartoons |
1988 |
| 1/12 | Cartoons |
1989 |
| 1/13 | Cartoons |
1990 |
| 1/14 | Cartoons |
1991 |
| 1/15 | Cartoons |
1992 |
| 2/1 | Cartoons |
1993-1994 |
| 2/2 | Cartoons |
1995-1996 |
| 2/3 | Cartoons |
1997-1998 |
| 2/4 | Cartoons |
1999 |
| 2/5 | Cartoons |
2005 |
| 2/6 | Cartoons |
undated |
| 2/7 | Cartoons |
undated |
Series III: Advertising, 1987-2002Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2/8 | Cartoons for use by Harlow and Anna Friday's insurance
agency |
1987-1996 |
| 2/9 | Newspaper clippings about Bill Friday’s work |
2000-2001 |
| 2/10 | Central Oregon Arts Association Arts Education Resource
Catalog |
2000-2002 |
Series IV: Published Works, 1984-2009Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2/11 | “Froggies and Friends Coloring Book” |
1984 |
| 2/11A | “From The Ground Up” |
1969-1970 |
| 2/12 | "If Truth Be Told: A Tapestry of Tales and Adventures
that lead to the Truth Prevailing over Lies and Spies. Set in a Small Oregon
Coastal Town. Based on True Stories of the 1970s" |
2007 |
| 2/13 | "The 1990 Calendar of R.V.s” |
1990 January - November |
| 2/14 | “The Thin Black Line: 30 Years of Cartooning” |
1999 |
| 2/15 | Forest Fire Lookout Calendar |
1998 |
| 2/16 | "Forest Fire Lookouts, Past and Present: A Year 2000
Calendar" (signed) |
1999 June 17 |
| 2/17 | "A Look Back" Calendars |
2000; 2002; 2009 |
| 2/18 | The Oregon Heritage Calendar |
2003 |
| 2/19 | To Bite or Not To Bite Cartoon Book by W.R. (Bill) Friday |
2006 |
| 2/20 | Super Global Pop Stars: A Creative Guidebook For Your Mind By William R. Friday |
2007 |
| 2/21 | Satyritoon Not By: Petronious But By: Flowers and Friday |
1984 |
| 3/1 | From The Baseline: A Guidebook to More Than 120 Tennis Courts in Central Oregon and Radical Air By William R. Friday |
2005; 2005 |
| 3/2 | The Sleepy Cat Ranch: Learning to Live with Cats and What They Can Teach Us By William R. Friday |
2005 |
| 3/3 | Trump Teasers - Keep on Trumping: A Satirical Look at Trump & Assocs |
2018 |
Series V: Unpublished Works, 1994-1999Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3/4 | Artwork |
1994-1999 |
| 3/5 | Writing: “One Golden Moment at the Fort Rock Grange,”
and “Buster Butte Lookout” |
circa 1999 |
| 3/6 | Blank note cards |
undated |
Series VI: Works by Other Authors, 1972-2011Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3/7 | "Local Cartoonist Wins Prestigious 'Best of the
Northwest' Honor" - press release |
2007 |
| 3/8 | “Skyjacker’s Guide or Please hold this bomb while I go
to the bathroom,” by Anna Friday, Illustrated by W.R. Friday |
1972 |
| 3/9 | “Uncle Sam’s Cabins: A Visitor’s Guide to Historic U.S.
Forest Service Ranger Stations of the West,” by Les Joslin (Contains an inscription to Bill Friday re: his “artistic
contributions to interpretation of historic Elk Lake Guard Station,” signed
January 19, 2001). |
1995 |
| 3/10 | Space and Distance: A Guide to South Central Oregon's North Lake County |
1988 |
| 3/11 | Wildland and Prescribed Fire Management Policy: Implementation Procedures Reference Guide and newspaper clippings related to Wildfires |
1998 August; 2000 August |
| 3/12 | "Interview with a living legend: an afternoon on a mountaintop" |
2011 |
| 3/13 | "Identifying and assessing historical cultural resources in the Pacific Northwest" |
1978 |
| 3/14 | Lookout Handbook |
2005 |
| 4/1 | Atlas of the Pacific Northwest Resources and Development |
undated |
| 4/2 | U.S. Department of the Interior – BLM – Draft Lakeview resource management plan/Environmental Impact statement: volume 1 (of 3) |
2001 |
| 4/3 | U.S. Department of the Interior – BLM – Draft Lakeview resource management plan/Environmental Impact statement: volume 2 (of 3) |
2001 |
| 4/4 | U.S. Department of the Interior – BLM – Draft Lakeview resource management plan/Environmental Impact statement: volume 3 (of 3) |
2001 |
| 4/5 | U.S. Department of the Interior – BLM – Lakeview proposed resource management and final EIS, vol. 1 (of 4) |
2003 |
| 4/6 | U.S. Department of the Interior – BLM – Lakeview proposed resource management and final EIS, vol. 2 (of 4) |
2003 |
| 4/7 | U.S. Department of the Interior – BLM – Lakeview proposed resource management and final EIS, vol. 3 (of 4) |
2003 |
| 4/8 | U.S. Department of the Interior – BLM – Lakeview proposed resource management and final EIS, vol. 4 (of 4) |
2003 |
Series VII: Maps, 1929-1991Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/9 | Fireman Map (Steamboat Ranger District, Umpqua National Forest Oregon) |
1976 |
| 4/10 | Two (2) Transportation Plan Maps (Lakeview District, Oregon, Thorne Lake) |
1984 July |
| 4/11 | Transportation Plan Map (Lakeview District, Oregon, Wagontire Mtn.) |
1984 July |
| 4/12 | Geologic Map of Oregon By: George W. Walker and Norman S. MacLeod |
1991 |
| 4/13 | Compendium of U.S.G.S./Forest Service Maps, southern Oregon |
circa 1987 |
| 4/14 | Two (2) maps of south-central Oregon |
undated |
| RolledDocument | ||
| RD 1 | Forest Service Map of the Umpqua National Forest, Oregon, Willamette Meridian |
1929 |
| RD 2 | Forest Service Map of the Deschutes National Forest, Oregon, Willamette Meridian |
1968 |
Series VIII: Audio-visual materials, 2007Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/15 | VHS tape - "Bill Friday Feb. 21, Oregon Field-Fire Watchtower" "Green Mtn. L.O." |
2007 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Cartooning--Oregon--History--Sources.
- Fire lookout stations--Northwest, Pacific--History--Sources.
- Political cartoons--History--Sources.
Personal Names
- Friday, William R., 1942- --Archives.
Form or Genre Terms
- Records (Documents)
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Friday, William R., 1942- --Thin black line.
Finding aid prepared by Amber
Raney.
2003.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
