Peter Arno: Prone to Illness?

Peter Arno's timid man is a stock character who makes frequent appearances in the cartoonist's work. Sometimes his comments show him to be oblivious to libidinous behavior in his vicinity. Here's a 1937 example from College Humor that appeared in the blog archives:

"See here! Won't you two have a bit of nourishment?"

Peter Arno

"Side-Show," College Humor, Vol. 5, No. 3, July 1937, p. 18

The timid man is similarly clueless in his bland observations about New York's sexy night life. An original New Yorker drawing from the same year as the College Humor cartoon was sold at Heritage Auctions on April 17:

"One would think she'd be subject to a series of nasty colds."
Peter Arno
Original art
The New Yorker, October 23, 1937, p. 16

"One would think she'd be subject to a series of nasty colds."
Peter Arno
Original art
The New Yorker, October 23, 1937, p. 16

Here's the bidding as it stood one day prior to the sale:

Peter Arno
Heritage Auctions listing accessed April 16, 2024

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/illustrations/peter-arno-single-panel-gag-cartoon-illustration-original-art-undated-/a/322416-48015.s?ic2=mytracked-lotspage-lotlinks-12202013&tab=MyTrackedLots-101116#

Sold!

"One would think she'd be subject to a series of nasty colds."
Peter Arno
The New Yorker, October 23, 1937, p. 16

"One would think she'd be subject to a series of nasty colds."
Peter Arno
Original art
The New Yorker, October 23, 1937, p. 16

A cartoon by Peter Arno and a spot drawing of cats by Lee[?]

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1937-10-23/flipbook/016/

Spot drawing of cats by Lee[?]

Note:  I don't recognize this New Yorker spot artist named Lee, or something similar to Lee. Reader assistance would be appreciated. Peter Arno I recognize.

04622 

Jack and Betty's Copy of The Art in Cartooning

Bauman Rare Books of Philadelphia offers a second copy of The Art in Cartooning (1975) for $3,200, making this book that once belonged to Jack and Betty the most expensive copy yet on the market. Jack could indeed be the same Jack Herbert whose copy of the book listed by the same rare book dealer we saw in yesterday's post. Cartoonist Henry Martin graced the book with a drawing of Betty painting Jack's portrait. Bill Woodman depicts the older couple roller skating together. Cartoons by Marvin Tannenberg and Roland Michaud both allude to golf and perhaps to the couple's differing opinions of it. Curiously, Michaud has not signed or drawn in any of the previous seven copies of this book we have seen here. Sam Gross gives the couple a cat cartoon with an unseen but talkative mouse.

On the next page, Lou Myers shows the couple to be doting grandparents and adds an unusual bit of color to the hats. George Booth provides the half-title with a complicated double-drawing, the wheels of an old-time car in profile doubling as a driver's goggles and eyes seen en face. He includes an eight-line verse. The whole thing seems to have a lot of moving parts and surely must have been worked out by him in advance.  

 

The Art in Cartooning
Bauman Rare Books listing accessed April 13, 2024

https://www.baumanrarebooks.com/rare-books/booth-george-new-yorker/art-in-cartooning/126825.aspx

Note:  Has anything like George Booth's light verse been encountered before? Do tell.

For that matter, this blog would benefit from additional images of drawn-in copies of The Art in Cartooning—why would I stop at eight?—or of other books drawn upon by any of these seven artists.

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Jack Herbert's Copy of The Art in Cartooning

Bauman Rare Books offers a special copy of The Art in Cartooning: Seventy-five Years of American Magazine Cartoons  (1975), edited by Edwin Fisher, Mort Gerberg, and Ron Wolin for the Cartoonists Guild. The book is inscribed to one Jack Herbert and has original drawings by Jack Ziegler, Gahan Wilson, Sam Gross, and Bill Woodman. It is listed at $2,500.

The dust jacket shows The Closed Mind, an experimental piece by cartoonist Charles Saxon.

The drawings by Ziegler and Wilson are quite generous, each fairly elaborate and alone on a full page. The theme seems to be bottles. Unfortunately, the bookseller has not provided scans of the Gross and Woodman drawings, so we don't know whether this theme is continued.

The Art in Cartooning
Bauman Rare Books listing accessed April 13, 2024

https://www.baumanrarebooks.com/rare-books/booth-george-new-yorker/art-in-cartooning/125820.aspx

Note:  There are now seven copies of The Art in Cartooning posted to this blog. Each is unique in its own way. There are no doubt other fine copies out there with original drawings, signatures, or inscriptions from noteworthy cartoonists. I am always excited to post images from such copies. Please send them along to my inbox for consideration.

If anyone should happen into Bauman Rare Books, please see if you can snap a photo or two of the missing Gross and Woodman drawings for the sake of posterity.

04620

Gloria's Copy of The Art of The New Yorker 1925-1995

On September 15, 1995, editor Tina Brown threw a launch party for Lee Lorenz's book The Art of The New Yorker 1925-1995. Gloria (glorbrue on eBay), then an employee of the magazine, took the opportunity to purchase a copy and have it signed and personalized by a group of artists at the Lincoln Center event.

A minor scorch mark on the book prompted fire-related drawings from cartoonists Jack Ziegler, Danny Shanahan, and Lee Lorenz, plus a fire-quenching comment from Ed Fisher. Roz Chast contributed her own admonitory drawing to the page, while Gretchen Dow Simpson added a wistful inscription.

Meanwhile, Victoria Roberts left a disarmingly poignant emendation to the book's title. Her fanciful bird drawing prompted a mock-angry reaction from Bob Mankoff, who depicted himself packing heat and prepared to shoot. George Booth, positioning himself on the page above the fray, reacted to the gun play and the bird by having a bullet ricochet between his chickens.

Let's take a closer look. The following detail gives a better view of the drawings by Chast and Ziegler, both of which have faded over the intervening years.

Mankoff's enraged gunman has some rudimentary stippling, a hallmark of his style.

Is it a flamingo? A detail of Roberts's bird shows the somewhat meandering neck.

Booth's chickens seem unperturbed by all the action.

Shanahan and Lorenz address the burning issues of the day.

Bidding started on eBay at $250 with a buy-it-now price of $500. One low bid was all it took to seal the deal:

The Art of The New Yorker 1925-1995
eBay listing ended February 7, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/156036847523?epid=494627&itmmeta=01HV5JC18VPP170KGD6R6Q7PTC&hash=item24548557a3:g:3qUAAOSwMQZlunoq&itmprp

=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4HduhLiBPgNQU4K3j%2B5oIy419lq3kGN8Ej%2BpzLIAfO2pGuMQNuIeM%2FO%2FPNJYPaO8DCvOARkVHo%2BPaLyDGdwp7fm7qR5oL3d

CjwaSwdB9b2%2BDSDmyzRyQHK5jEJwWeNszrswu4wVDpAeFhEQ9Agx0mE74qIDzX7G1E8jCriIuO8AzT%2BCrd5RsPYvhLo3qHsUeAUraZCGdGBLV5bNqA5tx%2FV5B

4e5offYrCe3Q2vBIAOmBE2mY0F6aL%2FJLv%2FLYrAYpEoR72YC3449tEBEdXJE8lANMmWDxexql9JYxXq2xpwK%2B%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8CUsLLZYw

The Art of The New Yorker 1925-1995
eBay item description
". . . and two signatures I can't make out. Ed Koren? Bill Hamilton?" Try Ed Fisher and Bob Mankoff.

Note:  Believe it or not, this is the fourteenth copy of this book to appear here on the blog. Many of these copies are from the signing event at Lincoln Center. I'd be pleased to post additional copies of the book signed by New Yorker cartoonists. I would also love to hear from anyone in possession of photographs taken at the event.

04619

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #893

A small plot of real estate is on the market in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #893 from the issue of April 15, 2024. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by Drew Panckeri.

"The seller is hitting puberty."

These captions weren't allowed into the club:

"You folks strike me as outdoorsy."
"It's perfect for your inner child."
"You did say you were on a budget."
"It's an opportunity to get back in shape."
"Are you planning to have children?"
"It's great for a summer home."
"The seller is keeping the comic books."

04618

Ronald Searle: From the Collection of Paul P. Goldberg

Paul P. Goldberg's request for an autograph sketch from cartoonist Ronald Searle was in all likelihood received by the artist's New York agent John Locke and then forwarded to Paris. Searle not only granted the collector's request, he even affixed the proper French postage. Air mail, no doubt.

Ronald Searle
eBay listing accessed January 6, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/176150137538?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160811114145%26meid%3Dae4305fa14b94f09adc055c9be42e9a7%26pid%3D100667%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D176150137538%26itm%3D176150137538%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2351460&_trksid=p2351460.c100667.m2042

Ronald Searle
eBay item description 

Ronald Searle
eBay bid history
The last bid wins it. Again.

The bidding with three days to go seemed very manageable:

Sold!

Note:  The winning bidder has gone public with this purchase on Facebook. Those who are friends with the new owner may see it here.

04617

Dana Fradon: From the Collection of Paul P. Goldberg

Who wouldn't applaud the industry of comic art collector Paul P. Goldberg, who requested sketches from leading cartoonists over some three decades, maybe more? Dana Fradon, who eventually was to publish almost 1,400 cartoons in The New Yorker, is one of the many who took time out to return Goldberg's postcard. He included a 1978 self-portrait, an ink and wash sketch showing off his period sideburns and bushy eyebrows. He also wished Goldberg good luck, never a bad thing for a serious cartoon collector to have.

Dana Fradon
eBay listing ended January 10, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/176152785167?itmmeta=01HV0BRR6XG51AGSV6JHYWF3JF&hash=item290386310f:g:yVoAAOSwDP5lkZk4

Dana Fradon
eBay item description

Dana Fradon
eBay bid history
There's only one bid. Placing it very late discourages competitive bids.

04616