Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Ben Wicks fonds
General material designation
- Graphic material
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Fonds
Reference code
F 959
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1995-1997 (Creation)
- Creator
- Wicks, Alfred (Ben)
Physical description area
Physical description
1704 cartoons
4 books
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Alfred Wicks was born October 1, 1926 in London England. He quit school at the age of 14 to work at a variety of jobs including a bootmaker, shipping clerk, and barrow salesman. He joined the British Army, learning to play the clarinet and saxophone. After the war he found work as a professional musician with an orchestra onboard the "Queen Elizabeth", a luxury cruise liner. He was given the name "Ben", after Benny Goodman, by the orchestra leader. Ben Wicks took art lessons at London's Camberwell Art School.
Wicks emigrated to Calgary, Alberta in 1957 with his wife Doreen. He found work as a milkman. It was while doing this in 1962 when he sold his first cartoon to the Saturday Evening Post. His cartoons would also be published in the Albertan. In 1966 he moved to Toronto to join the staff of the Toronto Telegram. Around this time he also began syndicating his cartoons including his political series "The Outcasts". His single frame cartoons appeared in 84 Canadian and 100 U. S. newspapers and his "Outcasts" series was carried by 52 Canadian newspapers. Ben Wicks was also the author of 43 books, numerous magazine articles and became a T. V. personality with his own show "The World of Wicks".
Aside from his career as a cartoonist, Ben Wicks was known for his humanitarian work, often using his drawings to bring attention world issues and human suffering. He teamed up with his wife Dorothy Wicks, a citizenship court judge, to establish a variety of charitable foundations to combat poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1986.
Ben Wicks died September 10, 2000 of cancer, leaving behind his wife Doreen, and three children, and eight grandchildren.
Custodial history
Scope and content
In 1997 the family of Ben Wicks donated 1704 of his drawings to Ryerson University. Included are the original drawings for his syndicated single panel drawings from January 1995-December 1997, original drawings from his "Outcasts" series from January 1995-January 1996, and orginal drawings from 4 books - "Born to Read", "Life Insurance for Seniors", "Sure we're covered...aren't we?", and "So you've got Cancer". Copies of the books were also included in the donation.
Fonds has been divided into two series to reflect the two separate donations that took place in 1997.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Drawings are in process of re-housing. Some/all may not be available for consultation.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Copyright belongs to creator.