The Emiel (Emil) Laga Collection
The Collection
In 2020, the Emiel Laga Collection was donated to the Faculty Library of Arts and Philosophy by the Laga family, within the context of the ERC research project COMICS (no. 758502), led by Prof. Dr. Maaheen Ahmed. The collection was acquired after the collector’s passing and had been assembled on the other side of the Atlantic, in the United States, through an international network of North American and European collectors.
The collection consists of several thousand pages of newspaper comics, which arrived at the Faculty Library in 24 shipping crates. It includes internationally renowned series such as Mickey Mouse, Tarzan, and Popeye, as well as lesser-known titles that are rarely preserved in Europe, including Toyland, Tillie the Toiler, Tiny Tim, A Yarn of Nancy B., and The Toonerville Folks. The earliest identified items date from 1898; the most recent instalments are currently dated to 1973. These dates may be adjusted as a significant portion of the crates has not yet been fully unpacked or inventoried. The collection forms an important corpus for research on the early history of comics, popular culture, and visual narrative forms, with particular attention to the American Sunday Pages (the comics published in newspaper Sunday supplements).
The collection presents significant challenges in terms of conservation and access. The material is extremely fragile, due in part to the poor paper quality of early twentieth-century newspapers and to the way the pages were originally packed. Description is also complex: newspaper supplements often contain comics on both sides of a page and frequently include multiple series per sheet. To prevent further deterioration, physical consultation is highly restricted. In this context, the Faculty Library will explore possibilities for (partial) digitisation, to support both preservation and broader accessibility.
Toyland: John R. Neil; February 4, 1906; McNaught Syndicate; uit: Baltimore American Sunday
Emiel Laga (Bruges, 1935 – New Iberia, Louisiana, 2017)
Emiel Laga was a collector of graphic literature and literary illustration. Professionally, he worked as a clinical pathologist in the United States, practicing in various states from 1963 onwards, with a long-standing presence in Louisiana. Alongside his medical career, he spent several decades building an extensive and systematically organised collection.
Laga aimed to develop a graphic library: a comprehensive survey of graphic literature and illustration, for both children and adults and spanning a broad historical period. In addition to American Sunday Pages, his collection included, among other materials, Belgian children’s books and an exceptionally large assemblage of Images d’Épinal, a French precursor to the modern comic strip.
After his death, parts of the collection were dispersed. However, the body of American newspaper comics - centred around the Sunday Pages - remained largely intact and was transferred to the Faculty Library, where it now constitutes an important research collection.
Tilly the Toyler; Russ Westover; August 31, 1924; King Features Syndicate; uit: America's Greatest Color Comics Section
Tiny Tim; Stanley Link; December 7, 1936; Chicago Tribune-N.Y.News Syndicate Inc.
The Pussycat Princess; by Ed Anthony, drawn by Ruth Carroll; December 19, 1943; King Features Syndicate
Toonerville Folks: Fontaine Fox; January 10, 1937; Bell Syndicate; uit: Illinois State Register
Literature and Documentation
- Ahmed, Maaheen en Beatrijs Goegebuer. “Comics in a University Library: (Un)boxing, Cataloguing, Diffusing." Archives et bibliothèques de Belgique / Archief- en bibliotheekwezen in België, vol. 94, 2024, p. 17-28.
- Decadt, Roger, Lou Braibant en Helena Stox. “Interview over Emiel Laga met Roger Decadt.” Ongepubliceerd, Brugge, 24 maart 2025.
- Laga, Koenraad en Lou Braibant. “Email correspondentie met Koenraad Laga.” Ongepubliceerd, maart-mei 2025.