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Selling American Express Travelers Cheques in the New Yorker
In the days before credit cards came into widespread use, travelers checks offered a safer alternative to carrying cash. American Express Travelers Cheques—as they prefer to spell them— were promoted...
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William Steig for First National City Bank Travelers Checks
As we saw in yesterday's post, William Steig was one of several cartoonists who participated in an advertising campaign for American Express Travelers Cheques in the early 1950s. His 1952 ad published...
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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #630
Soak up my entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #630 for September 10, 2018. The drawing is by Mick Stevens."You and your 'best spot on the beach!'"These captions needed some time to dry...
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Tom Henderson and William Steig: Making an Extra Table
Have you ever walked into a packed restaurant and impressed the maître d′ so much with your very presence that the wait staff set up an extra table just for you? Perhaps not, but we'd all like to be...
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The Rejected Lovers Signed by William Steig
The Rejected Lovers (1951) is one of many outstanding books by the New Yorker'sWilliam Steig. With the book published nearly seventy years ago, it must now be quite rare to find a signed copy in such...
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Charles Addams, George Price, and William Steig for Kodak Instamatic Movie...
In 1968, Kodak used art by three New Yorker cartoonists to promote the company's new Instamatic movie camera. And what better way to sell the new technology than to remind people how cumbersome the old...
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Lou Myers for Air Afrique
In 1968, an advertisement for Air Afrique, a division of Air France, appeared in several issues of the New Yorker. The ad encourages travel to the continent with the words "Africa. It's wild." The...
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Brendan Gill's Copy of Is Sex Necessary?
New Yorker writer Brendan Gill's copy of James Thurber and E. B. White'sIs Sex Necessary? is a 1944 reprint of the 1929 humorous book. Thurber and White each wrote alternating chapters of the book....
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Did an Alcon Commercial Borrow from a New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest?
Last year, cartoonist Christopher Weyant created this cartoon for The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest:Christopher WeyantThe New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #589 for October 23,...
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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #631
I tossed off an entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #631 for September 17, 2018. The drawing is by Ellis Rosen."The floppy disk is back!"These captions kneaded work:"They made me check my...
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James Thurber's Premonitions
An original 1938 New Yorker cartoon by James Thurber was listed on eBay in February of this year at $20,000. The seller warned that "This will be up for seven days only—if it doesn't sell, to Sotheby's...
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Mortal Remains
Mortal Remains by Ricardo Bloch and Don Celender is a 1996 survey of four hundred creative people that asks them about their long-term plans for burial . . . and beyond. My initial reaction was to...
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A Negative of a William Hamilton Cartoon
Recently I received an inquiry by email about an unusual negative image of a Playboy cartoon by William Hamilton. What is it exactly and what might it be worth? I'm not certain, but I think it's an...
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Rubber Stamp and Pencil on Paper
The medium is rubber stamp and pencil on paper. That alone might be enough to clue you in that the artist is Saul Steinberg. Executed in 1968, there is no evidence in the current Sotheby's Paris...
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Saul Steinberg: The Chrysler Building
The title of Saul Steinberg's 1965 composition "The Chrysler Building" doesn't begin to hint at the imaginative transformation that art deco landmark has undergone. Even more remarkable is the...
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Saul Steinberg: Three New Yorkers
The great Saul Steinberg never learned to paint clouds. --David Apatoff"Steinberg's Clouds"Illustration Art blog post for May 3,...
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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #632
Here is my arresting entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #632 for September 24, 2018. The drawing is by Lars Kenseth."What makes you think Russia is behind this?"These captions didn't...
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Robert Frank's Les Américains with Cover Art by Saul Steinberg
Les Américains is a 1958 book featuring reproductions of Robert Frank's iconic photographic portraits of Americans. A critical design element of the original French edition was illustrating the front...
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Of Spam and Spelling
Even spammers should proofread. Here's a peek at what I found in my spam box on September 9, 2018. As you can see, I'm always on the trail of better performance:Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery...
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Howard Baer: All Wrapped Up
In 1937, cartoonist Howard Baer presented Esquire readers with a case of mistaken identity. This is why we use wristbands today."I'm sorry[,] Mrs. Smith, but your husband is in room...
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