Mark Trail,

%eadnotat; ]> Ed Dodd Original Mark Trail Comics 1960 Ewell Sale Stewart Library Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 2002 EAD tagging 12/19/2002. ENG Ed Dodd Original Mark Trail Comics Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 12/19/2002Cataloging and digitizing made possible by The Getty Grant Program. Coll. 750 Dodd, Ed, 1904- Original Mark Trail comics1960 12 comics Ewell Sale Stewart Library, Academy of Natural Sciences

1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19103-1101

Edward Benton Dodd, 1904-1991, studied technology in Georgia and at the Art Students League in New York. In 1946, Ed Dodd launched his ecological comic strip Mark Trail, where he could express his love for wide landscapes. The comic strip is about a nature writer, Mark Trail, who lives in the forest, combatting poachers and drug smugglers, while giving lessons about various wild creatures. The collection contains twelve Mark Trail comic strips of by Ed Dodd. The strips cover such natural history subjects as ants, owls, the Weltwischia tree, opossom, kangaroos, tarsier, whale shark, ardvark, caribou, hornbill, and elephants.

Edward Benton Dodd, 1904-1991, studied technology in Georgia and at the Art Students League in New York. His love for nature inspired him to buy a ranch in Wyoming in 1926. He also became a guide in the National Parks. Four years later, he started making nature illustrations with 'Back Home Again', a series of drawings distributed until 1945 by United Feature Syndicate. In 1946, Ed Dodd launched his ecological comic strip Mark Trail, where he could express his love for wide landscapes. The comic strip is about a nature writer, Mark Trail, who lives in the forest, combatting poachers and drug smugglers, while giving lessons about various wild creatures.

Syndication of Mark Trail peaked in the 1960s at about 500 newspapers, and it currently appears in 175 papers nationwide. In 1981, a museum located in what was formerly Gainesville's Green Street Fire Station opened a Mark Trail Room, replete with Dodd illustrations and memorabilia. Ed Dodd drew the series until 1978, after which it was continued by his assistant, Jack Elrod.

Dodd spoke at the Academy April 30, 1969.

The collection contains twelve Mark Trail comic strips by Ed Dodd. The strips cover such natural history subjects as ants, owls, the Weltwischia tree, opossom, kangaroos, tarsier, whale shark, ardvark, caribou, hornbill, and elephants. The strips measure from 73 x 58 cm. to 75 x 58 cm. All comics are black and white, containing 4 panels each of illustration with text. Traces of blue pencil show the original placement of text. Accompanying the comics is a sheet reading "Original Mark Trail drawings by Ed Dodd, Courtesy of the Hall Syndicate, Inc."

Organized by edition number.

AntsOwlsOpossomsKangaroosTarsiersAardvarkCaribouHornbillsWhale sharkElephantsComics--20th century

Information on reproduction rights and services available in the library or on the web at http://www.ansp.org/library/reproductions.php

Cite as: Collection 750. Ed Dodd Original Mark Trail Comics. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.

Gift of Ed Dodd, archived from the Exhibits Department, January 1966.

Finding aid created by Mary Hammer, 2002.

1The black and white casqued hornbill ... / Ed Dodd, 1960. 1 drawing : ink ; 74 x 58 cm.

Edition 7-3.