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Puttin' on the Ritz
The logic is inescapable unless you think about it. Irving Berlin's hit song "Puttin' on the Ritz" is performed on stage by Dr. Frankenstein and his monster."Puttin' on the Ritz" from "Young...
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Ronald Searle: Big Foot Family and Friends
Happy Halloween, everybody! Here is a creature fest from the pen of Ronald Searle.Ronald Searle,Big Foot Family and Friends,...
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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #448
Here is my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #448 for October 27, 2014. The drawing is by Frank Cotham."I still call him the boss from hell."Note: Last week Victoria Roberts gave us a...
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Al Capp: The Dreams of Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner's rich dream life ends in disappointment when he awakens. An unusual example of unfinished comic strip artwork by Al Capp is currently being offered on eBay.Al Capp, Unfinished Li'l Abner...
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New York City Marathon 2014 Wheelchair Division
In the 2014 New York City Marathon this morning, some of the Wheelchair Division marathoners come up First Avenue.New York City Marathon 2014 Wheelchair Division athletes01330
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Earliest Al Capp
The eBay seller offering unfinished roughs of Al Capp'sLi'l Abner comic strip, also has what are billed as the earliest known Al Capp drawings. The two sides of the sheet have full-page illustrations...
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Clean-Living Girls: An Unfinished Comic Strip by Al Capp
"This is our first night on our own!! Let's eat out!!"Al Capp's working methods in pencil and ink may be observed in this unfinished comic strip art, presumably for Li'l Abner, currently offered on...
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The New Breed of "Wonder Lawyer": Al Capp's Unfinished Li'l Abner Art
After pencilling his Li'l Abner comic strip, Al Capp would next ink in the faces. Once he had visualized this crucial step, he could either go on to complete the strip or decide to rework it.Al Capp,...
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Diane Vaughan's Copy of The Art of the New Yorker 1925-1995
The date was September 15, 1995. The New Yorker's cartoon editor, Lee Lorenz, had just published The Art of The New Yorker 1925-1995. A signing party was held, by all accounts a festive affair hosted...
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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #449
Here is my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #449 for November 3, 2014. The drawing is by Jack Ziegler."Do you need the bathroom?"It isn't easy to write a caption worthy of Jack Ziegler....
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The Mad Fold-In Art of Al Jaffee
Al Jaffee created his first Fold-In feature for Mad magazine fifty years ago in 1964 and he's still at it today. Last night I attended an opening at the Scott Eder Gallery presenting original Fold-In...
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Bodacious License Plate
Just to be clear, Tata Motors Limited is India's largest automobile manufacturer."TATA 3"New York State license plateNote: This blog is home to an assortment of vanity license plates collected for your...
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Positive Fortune
Last week's fortune cookie is a new favorite. What it lacks in English it makes up in a Capra-esque optimism about the good that each individual can do for the world. I suppose we all believe we're...
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Wally Skinner's Copy of The Art of the New Yorker 1925-1995
John Wallace "Wally" Skinner was a Cleveland dealer in books and prints who had the good sense to attend the signing event for Lee Lorenz's The Art of The New Yorker 1925-1995. Besides Mr. Lorenz, some...
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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #450
Here is my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #450 for November 10, 2014. The drawing is by David Borchart."We got the Zumba account, whatever that is."Here's an earlier, slightly more...
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The Illustrators 2014 at Chris Beetles
The Chris Beetles Gallery is offering its annual outstanding selection of illustration art. As in previous years, the show is accompanied by a lavishly-produced catalogue. The cover illustration is...
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Rowland Emett's Solar Power
Rowland Emett's fuel-economy train from 1949 is an open-air affair that apparently relies on the skillful use of mirrors for solar-powered steam propulsion and the concurrent use of umbrellas to...
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The Adventures of Mickey Mouse
The first appearance of Mickey Mouse in book form occurred in 1931. Presumably this was Minnie Mouse's first book appearance as well, and Donald Duck's too. The cover of The Adventures of Mickey Mouse,...
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Tales of the Jazz Age
It's hard to tell what's more appealing about this book, the fact that it's a first edition from 1922 by F. Scott Fitzgerald or the incredible dust jacket by John Held, Jr. These two giants of the Jazz...
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"Engraved" by John Held, Jr.
"Sexual freedom was a mania and it strikes me only now that for the past fifty years every generation is convinced that it was the pioneer in breaking with Victorian morals. That breakthrough, as an...
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