J. D. Salinger: The "Holy Grail" of Modern Firsts
Is it excessive hype for a bookseller to describe a signed and inscribed first edition of J. D. Salinger'sThe Catcher in the Rye (1951) as "The 'Holy Grail' of modern firsts?" Probably not. What if the...
View ArticleA Ferocious Encounter With James Thurber
Ten years ago at the reputable Illustration House, a drawing by James Thurber of a rabbit staring down a dog was offered at auction. The drawing seems highly atypical for Thurber, with...
View ArticleWarren Miller's Classy Rabbits
A pair of romantically-inclined rabbits with evidently refined palates are the subject of a 1981 New Yorker cartoon by Warren Miller. The original artwork shows signs of matte burn at the edges from an...
View ArticleCharles Saxon's Rich Rabbit
How many rabbits carry a pocket watch? Only one. Original illustration art by New Yorker cartoonist Charles Saxon depicts Lewis Carroll's White Rabbit out of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He is...
View ArticleHarriet Walden's Copy of The Summer Game by Roger Angell
Harriet Walden came to the New Yorker in 1944 as editor Harold Ross's secretary. She later managed the magazine's pool of editorial assistants referred to as Walden Pond. Her 2006 New Yorker obituary...
View ArticleThe New Yorker Signed by Derek Jeter
So here's a little tip from an eBay seller on how to obtain strikingly unique baseball memorabilia. While a star like Derek Jeter is waiting in line at a Starbuck's in Oakland, say, before a baseball...
View ArticleThurber's Dogs Signed by James Thurber
A copy of Thurber's Dogs (1955) is signed and inscribed by Thurber in pencil with a "Happy 1956," It sold for $115 in April on eBay.James Thurber, Thurber's Dogs (1955)$3.95 in 1955Inscribed "Always...
View ArticleThurber's Dogs Signed by Peter Schickele
In 1994, composer Peter Schickele was commissioned to write Suite for Orchestra: Thurber's Dogs. The music is inspired by the drawings of James Thurber and was commissioned in celebration of the...
View ArticleRonald Searle: The Fourth Republic at the Guillotine
In the May 21, 1958 issue of Punch,Ronald Searle revisits the imagery of the French Revolution in the wake of the Algiers putsch. The coup attempt of May 13 had led to the widespread concern that...
View ArticleAgatha Christie's Spider's Web
I won't try to summarize the plot to Agatha Christie's"Spider's Web" but I will say this obscure 1954 play is well worth a visit. It's tone is unusual for Christie, lighter and more humorous than one...
View ArticleAh yes, I Remember It Well...: Ronald Searle Proposed New Yorker Cover Art
Ronald Searle's magazine cover proposals submitted to the New Yorker often consisted of finished art ready to go to press. Living, as he did, in the south of France, he avoided the cumbersome process...
View ArticleMy Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #576
Gather round the hive for my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #576 for July 10, 2017. This honey of a drawing is by Joe Dator."Will you be my queen?"One caption got kicked out of the...
View ArticleThe Squeaky Wheel: Ronald Searle Proposed New Yorker Cover Art
In 1961, Ronald Searle took note of the hype preceding the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair and submitted a magazine cover proposal for the New Yorker on the subject of the creative ferment already...
View ArticleA Mouse at the Opera: Julian de Miskey Proposed New Yorker Cover Art
These days the New Yorker's covers generally don't venture into the opera house. In the early decades of the magazine, though, the cover art frequently took a seriocomic look at the spectacle of grand...
View ArticleJazz Club: Julian De Miskey Proposed New Yorker Cover Art
Julian de Miskey's biographical page on the Papillon Gallery website is illustrated with "Jazz Club," a proposed New Yorker magazine cover, we are plausibly told. The artwork is extraordinarily...
View ArticleSticking It: Barbara Shermund Proposed New Yorker Cover Art
Let's go out on a limb here and suggest that a proposed New Yorker cover by Barbara Shermund is set in Central Park. With so many people enjoying the park in the summertime, somebody's got to keep it...
View ArticleRonald Searle: Adam and Eve and the Flaming Sword of P. C.
See what happens when you don't behave? New to eBay:Ronald Searle,Adam and Eve and the Flaming Sword of P. C.Saturday Review, July 1972Ronald Searle, Adam and Eve and the Flaming Sword of P. C.Saturday...
View ArticleDanny Shanahan: Shark Week
Danny Shanahan reminds us that we have more to worry about this week than just the rising seas. He has embellished his New Yorker cover of March 7, 2016 with an original sketch of another well-known...
View ArticleMy Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #577
Chow down my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #577 for July 24, 2017. The drawing is by David Borchart."Let's order in."These captions were rejected by the Department of Health:"Dinner's...
View ArticleRonald Searle's Football Carry
Illustrator Ronald Searle demonstrates how to carry a football to avoid turnovers. At press time, as it used to be called, the original art is available for purchase on eBay. Get it now during the...
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