The Swiss Hans Peter Muster got the idea to write the three‑volume ‘Who’s Who of Cartoon Art’ when his friend and cartoonist “JUSP,” newly appointed curator of Basel’s Collection of Caricatures and Cartoons, asked him whether he knew of a caricaturist named Deleysin.
Some people draw cartoons themselves, others collect them, but Hans Peter Muster did something unique: he compiled a biographical lexicon. In 1989 the first two volumes of his three‑part Who’s Who in Satire and Humour appeared, a monumental survey of 20th‑century satirical and humorous artists. The third volume followed in 1990.
Muster was not a cartoonist, but a driven documentalist. He sent questionnaires to cartoonists, slogged through piles of refusals, received curt replies, and filled a wastebasket with crumpled forms. Yet he did not give up. Determined, he continued to search for names, stories, and anecdotes.
His mission? To bring often anonymous cartoonists out of the shadows and give them a place in art history. Thanks to his work, hundreds of artists gained a face and a place in a reference work that still delights the heart of the cartoon enthusiast.
Jan Oplinus