New Al Jaffee Oral History Open to Research

In new interview, Al Jaffee discusses his work for MAD, including the “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” feature. (Artwork from Al Jaffee papers, soon to be available for research at RBML)

The Columbia Center for Oral History Archives at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library is pleased to announce that an oral history interview with Mad magazine cartoonist Al Jaffee is now available for research. This interview was taken for the CCOH Archives by Suzanne Snider in 2016 to complement archival materials from Al Jaffee already available at the RBML and those to become available in the future.

In this interview, Jaffee describes his youth, his experiences at MAD, his work methods, and his theories on humor, among other topics.

The transcript can be viewed in the RBML reading room. The audio of the interview is also available in the RBML reading room by emailing the CCOH Archives at oralhist@library.columbia.edu two days in advance of your visit. For more information about comics collections at the RBML, please contact Karen Green, Curator for Comics and Cartoons (klg19@columbia.edu). For more information about the Al Jaffee oral history interview, planning a visit to the RBML, or the oral history collections more generally, please contact oralhist@library.columbia.edu.

-David A. Olson, Archivist for the Columbia Center for Oral History Archives