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Louis Jamme: Men Working
It's rare to see five original cartoons by Louis Jamme (1913-1949) come to the art market all at once. The first of them reminds us that labor and management perhaps share a certain curiosity in...
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Louis Jamme: Searching for Light
An original World War II-era military cartoon by Louis Jamme (1913-1949) possesses a long and ungainly caption, but that's really the point of the whole thing. It's all about ironies of scale: while...
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Louis Jamme: Contract Bridge Signal
It's never a good thing when an auction house reproduces a drawing with the wrong aspect ratio. Louis Jamme's original cartoon about a game of contract bridge is elongated like a Modigliani. We can...
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Irving Phillips: The Old Switcheroo
An April 1937 Esquire cartoon is set in a maternity ward, but don't expect any sentiment on that score. The gag by Irving Phillips is wrong on so many levels. For openers it is racist, it is...
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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #703
My entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #703 for March 30, 2020 should provide some food for though. The drawing is by Jon Adams."Actually, those aren't genuine tears."These captions weren't...
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George Petty: Bum Check
The conventions of the pin-up don't necessarily work well within the context of a gag cartoon. In its early decades, Esquire resorted time and again to a formula of pairing provocatively underdressed...
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The Cartoon Collections Caption Contest #68
Moses receives a sizzling Ten Commandments in the Cartoon Collections Caption Contest #68. I had nothing worth submitting this round. The drawing is by Danny Shanahan."You might want to work on the...
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Louis Jamme: All Together Now
Original art by cartoonist Louis Jamme is set at a neighborhood soda fountain. There are precisely twelve children and twelve straws; this guy took his counting seriously. The scene is not without a...
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Louis Jamme: The Prosecution Rests
A tense courtroom is the setting for an original cartoon by Louis Jamme (1913-1949). But wait—does the nervous defendant know about his Fifth Amendment rights?"I remember hearing a voice say, 'Stick...
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Rome 2019: The Theatre of Marcellus and the Pantheon
With Italy on lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19, my thoughts return wistfully to our visit last summer. These photographs date from July 9, 2019 when Rome was teeming with tourists, although...
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Rome 2019: Trastevere and the Jewish Ghetto
With Italy currently on lockdown and most everyone elsewhere under stay-at-home orders, I thought I'd revisit last year's trip when none of us realized how good we had it. Today's photographs are from...
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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #704
My entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #704 for April 6, 2020 is, as usual, going down. The drawing is by John Klossner."Say, you must be our new neighbor."These captions got off at the...
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Florence 2019: Arrival
On July 10, 2019, we took the train from Rome to Florence. At the time I found the summer crowds discouraging. Now, during our time of enforced social distancing, I have a strange nostalgia for the...
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The Cartoon Collections Caption Contest #69
The Sirens come calling in the Cartoon Collections Caption Contest #68. Here are my three entries. The drawing is by Ellis Rosen."Have you boys downloaded our app?""Have we got a playlist for...
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Florence 2019: The Uffizi Gallery
On the morning of July 11, 2019, we visited the Uffizi Gallery. Some of the great works—by Botticelli, for example—were not on display, but there was still plenty to see.The Uffizi Gallery, named for...
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Florence 2019: The Pitti Palace
The Pitti Palace, or the Palazzo Pitti, is located in Florence near the Ponte Vecchio. It is temporarily closed, of course. Here are a few photographs from our visit on July 11, 2019.The Pitti Palace...
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Louis M. Glackens: Easter 1908
Louis M. Glackens (1866-1933) provided the cover illustration of Puck for Easter 1908. The artist, brother of Ashcan School founder and American Impressionist William Glackens, did work for the...
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Florence 2019: The Boboli Gardens
Rising up behind Florence's Pitti Palace are the Boboli Gardens which offer a good climb and great views. At the time of our visit (July 11, 2020) there was an installation of works by British sculptor...
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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #705
Skip your morning coffee and ponder my entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #705 for April 13, 2020. The drawing is by Julia Suits."Tell me again why we had to rob that Starbucks."This...
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Florence 2019: The Great Synagogue of Florence
We spent our last full day in Italy on July 12, 2019. The morning took us to the Great Synagogue of Florence.Outdoor theaterLeonardo: The MusicalThe Great Synagogue of FlorenceMoorish...
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