Guide to the Nancy Goldstein Collection on Jackie Ormes Research, 1940-2008 SPEC.CGA.NGC Finding aid prepared by Michelle Maguire Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections

1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210

May 2025 This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2026-03-05T11:41-0500 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Nancy Goldstein Collection on Jackie Ormes Research SPEC.CGA.NGC Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 6.45 Cubic feet (7 boxes) 1940-2008 7 boxes: (1) 5" x 15.5" x 10.5" document letter box; (2) 12" x 15" x 10" record storage boxes; (1) 6" x 12" x 5.5" CD storage box ; (2) 21" x 25.5" x 2.5" flat storage boxes; (1) 12 x 30.25 x 9" oversize box. Oversize materials in art case drawer. English Collection contains materials amassed by Nancy Goldstein while conducting research for her biography on Jackie Ormes – Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist (University of Michigan Press, 2008) – including documents, correspondence, interviews, color comic sections, an original Patty-Jo Doll, publications, and ephemera relating to the cartoonist’s life and work. Goldstein, Nancy Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Series 1 contains compact discs which require a computer with a CD drive.

Arrangement of Materials

This collection is arranged into 3 series:

Series 1: Research materials into the biography on Jackie Ormes Series 2: Dolls Series 3: Cartoons by Jackie Ormes

Acquisitions Information

CGA.2023.012: Nancy Goldstein, 2023

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box number/folder number], Nancy Goldstein Collection on Jackie Ormes Research, SPEC.CGA.NGC, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, Ohio State University

Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum reading room only.

Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

Related Materials

Sam Milai Collection SPEC.CGA.SM

Scope and Contents

This collection is primarily the research materials documenting the life of pioneering Black cartoonist Jackie Ormes amassed by collector and biographer Nancy Goldstein, who heavily annotated these gathered materials. Ormes was the first Black woman cartoonist with a nationally-distributed comic strip in the United States.

The collection includes Jackie Ormes’ personal files and family photos, correspondence between Goldstein and others about Ormes, a 287-page FBI file on Ormes, rare eight-page color comic sections from the Pittsburgh Courier that include Ormes’ adventure strip Torchy in Heartbeats, as well as strips by other cartoonists centered around Black life and characters. Of major significance in the collection is an original Patty-Jo doll produced by the Terri Lee Company in the late 1940s, based on Jackie Ormes’ single panel cartoon Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger which ran from 1945-1956.

Biographical Note

Jackie Ormes (1911-1985), born Zelda Mavin Jackson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was the first Black woman cartoonist and the creator of the Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem (1937-1938) and the Torchy in Heartbeats (1950-1954) comic strips, along with Torchy Togs, a paper doll topper accompaniment of the stylish character, and the Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger (1945-1956) panel, all of which ran in the Pittsburgh Courier, and Candy (1945), a panel which appeared briefly in The Chicago Defender.

Ormes voiced through her self-driven and savvy characters the concerns of Black Americans, using irreverence and wit to explore issues of racial injustice and inequality and to challenge topics of segregation, racism and discrimination of the time. Featuring resilient and independent women who were socially and politically aware, and using fashion and dress as tools for self-determination and positive self-representation, Ormes gave her readership powerful models for what the next generation of young Black women could aspire to.

The popularity of Ormes’ outspoken and clever character Patty-Jo led to the production of a plastic play doll in 1947 by the Terry Lee Company. The Patty-Jo doll – both the first Black doll based on a comic character and the first Black doll on the market to contrast with those depicting racial caricatures of the time – is a highly prized item for collectors today.

Nancy Goldstein (1942), a doll historian and author, became intrigued by the story of Jackie Ormes while doing research on the Patty-Jo Doll. Goldstein’s investigation gives us access to this important body of work, contextualizing the life of innovative artist and commentator Jackie Ormes, saving her from obscurity, and laying the groundwork for further research and study.

Processing Information

Michelle Maguire, March 2025

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Audiovisual materials and computer media may need a use copy produced before access is allowed. Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum reading room only.

Ormes, Jackie, 1911-1985 African American -- caricatures and cartoons African American cartoonists-- Biography Comic books, strips, etc. Comic strip character toys Paper dolls Series 1: Research materials into the biography on Jackie Ormes 1940-2022 Jackie Ormes' personal files NGC 1 1 1937-1985 Photographs of Jackie Ormes and family NGC 1 2 1940-1980 Various artwork by Jackie Ormes including illustrations for her high school yearbook NGC 1 3 1929-1937 Correspondence NGC 1 4 1985-2005 Biographical materials on Jackie Ormes NGC 1 5 2003-2004 The Pittsburgh Courier comic section NGC 1 6 1950 Publications which mention Jackie Ormes NGC 1 7-8 1947-2017 (2 folders) Oversize publications which mention Jackie Ormes NGC 3 1 1945-2008 Scope and Contents

Two full issues of Ebony magazine, one full issue of Women's Review of Books

Research files NGC 1 9 1920-2008 Research into other cartoonists NGC 1 10 1951-2004 Articles by Jackie Ormes & articles about Jackie Ormes NGC 1 11 1945-1996 DuSable Museum of African American History NGC 1 12 1956-2005 Smith-Mann Syndicate NGC 1 13 1950-2008 FBI request NGC 1 14 2004 FBI file on Jackie Ormes NGC 1 15 1946 Style likenesses to Jackie Ormes' characters NGC 1 16 1937-1941 Plates from Nancy Goldstein's book NGC 1 17 2008 Oversize proofs from Nancy Goldstein's book NGC 3 2 CGA.AC.BP20.109-110 2008 Selected reviews/mentions of Nancy Goldstein's book NGC 1 18 2008-2018 Torchy bookmarks NGC 1 19 2018 Thank you letters from elementary class in response to Jackie Ormes NGC 1 20 2013 Subseries 1.1: Audio/Visual Materials Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

This subseries contains compact discs which require a CD drive to access the content.

Chicago Reader - Tappin photos; Casper book including cartoons; Hencey book NGC 6 1 2005 Jackie Ormes cartoons -- DuSable Museum NGC 6 2 undated Nancy Goldstein -- several cartoons to print (for Damian Duffy) NGC 6 3 2006 Torchy (various) NGC 6 4 NGC 6 5 1950-1951 Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger from Tim Jackson; Torchy in Heartbeats from Tim Jackson NGC 6 6 2003-2005 Retouched files of Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem, Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger, Candy, and pin-up ad NGC 6 7 undated H'lo! I'm Patty-Jo logo for T-shirts NGC 6 8 undated Pittsburgh Courier -- various comic sections NGC 6 9 1950-1953 Jackie Ormes high school yearbook (The Flame) NGC 6 10 1930 Jackie Ormes illustration by Danny Hellman for the Village Voice NGC 6 11 December 1, 2008 Jackie Ormes illustrations (master files) NGC 6 12 undated Photos of Jackie Ormes NGC 6 13 undated Nancy Goldstein's images from Center for Research Libraries, Chicago NGC 6 14 undated Jackie Ormes feature on All Things Considered, National Public Radio NGC 6 15 July 2008 All I Ask NGC 6 16 undated Nancy Goldstein -- So Much Like Me NGC 6 17 undated Nancy Goldstein -- 2nd revised low-res PDFs NGC 6 18 2007 Nancy Goldstein's website images for navigational bar pages NGC 6 19 undated Illustration of Jackie Ormes by Danny Hellman for the Village Voice CGA.AC.BP20.111 December 6, 2008 Series 2: Dolls 1880-2010 Doll research NGC 1 21 1991-2010 Dolls of color NGC 1 22 1909-2009 Comic strip character dolls NGC 1 23-25 1880-2010 Provenance file for Patty-Jo doll NGC 1 26 2003 Patty-Jo doll NGC 1 27 1947-2007 United Federation of Doll Clubs Conventions NGC 1 28 2003-2005 Terri Lee Collectors Convention NGC 1 29 2003 Terri Lee dolls NGC 1 30 1951-1988 Patty-Jo doll NGC 7 1947-1949 Series 3: Cartoons by Jackie Ormes 1937-1956 Scope and Contents

Series 3 contains a mix of tearsheets and reproductions.

Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem 2 1 1937-1938 Scope and Contents

Photocopies of the strip from The Pittsburgh Courier

Patty-Jo Says NGC 2 2 1943 Scope and Contents

Photocopy from The Chicago Defender

Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger NGC 2 3 1948-1951 Scope and Contents

Clippings of the panel from The Pittsburgh Courier

Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger NGC 2 4 1945 Scope and Contents