Showing posts with label Al Jaffee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Al Jaffee. Show all posts

Saturday, July 2, 2022

Spy vs. Spy: Antonio Prohias et al.

If one were fortunate enough to obtain an original "layout for a published project" (so we are told) illustrated by Mad's Antonio Prohias of an agitated White Spy sitting in a movie theater, should one have other artists and luminaries of the magazine also sign—and draw on—the page? Perhaps not, but it's hard to argue that a "jam page" fitting this description didn't turn out extremely well. Sergio Aragonés put his contribution (including a sketch of Alfred E. Neuman) on the projected screen. Kelly Freas, Marie Severin, and Peter Kuper added other faces: respectively, of Freas himself, of William M. Gaines, and of one of the spies. That's quite a coup: having spies drawn by both Prohias and Kuper, his successor, on the same page. As a bonus, there are signatures by Jack Davis, Will Elder, Mort Drucker, Kyle Baker, Al Feldstein, Angelo Torres, Annie M. Gaines, Al Jaffee, and Paul Peter Porges. Is it any wonder the eBay seller is asking $1,600 for this? 






The usual gang of idiots
eBay listing accessed July 1, 2022

The usual gang of idiots
eBay item description






Note:  I'd love to hear from anyone who can identify the published source of this Spy vs. Spy layout drawing.



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Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Paul H. Elliott-Smith's Copy of A Golden Trashery of MAD

Under what circumstances were Paul H. R. M. Elliott-Smith's copy of A Golden Trashery of MAD (1960) signed in 1981 by publisher William M. Gaines, Al Feldstein, Nick Meglin, and a clutch of "the usual gang of idiots?" Was this hard-to-find book brought to a signing event or simply to the New York offices of MAD? Elliott-Smith (1919-1999) was a marketing and economics consultant, according to the sales listings below. He would have been around 62 in 1981, certainly not the typical age for a MAD fanboy. But at that age he could well have been retiring from whatever sort of consulting he did for EC, and the drawing by Paul Peter Porges on the lower right has a "Good-By'" that suggests this may have been the case. In this context, the book might have been a presentation copy prepared in advance and given to Elliott-Smith, which would explain why Gaines wrote "Free Sample!" The unique book is being offered for $1,000 on AbeBooks, or you can have it for just $900 on eBay. Hey, it's your money.

A Golden Trashery of MAD
New York: Crown, 1960

Cover by Norman Mingo

Twelve signatures, eight sketches

George Woodbridge

Jack Rickard takes the real estate under the dust jacket flap and makes the most elaborate drawing.

Inscribed "Free Sample!
Bill Gaines"

Jack Davis, Al Jaffee, Al Feldstein

Lou Silverstone, Dick DeBartolo, Paul Peter Porges


Sergio Aragonés

Bob Clarke, Nick Meglin

Introduction by Sid Caesar

A Golden Trashery of MAD
eBay Listing Retrieved October 16, 2018




A Golden Trashery of MAD
AbeBooks Listing Retrieved October 16, 2018






Note:  It should come as no surprise that this is the first and only copy of A Golden Trashery of MAD to appear on this blog. I am, of course, open to showing other MAD books here, particularly if they have interesting inscriptions or original drawings.

Today I broke with my internalized style book and capitalized all three letters of MAD even though I know better. For some reason it felt right. Shouldn't I stick with the lower-key Mad?



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Saturday, November 8, 2014

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 art for Mad magazine. The show consisted of twelve original acrylics on board and one preliminary drawing. Mr. Jaffee was in attendance.

Fold-Ins are designed to reveal their punch line only after the inside back cover of the magazine is folded into the specified configuration. As a result, seeing the original artwork displayed in a frame on the wall is challenging to the eye, the equivalent of trying to visualize the Fold-In solution without actually folding the page over--something I used to attempt all the time. The gallery helped out by providing a booklet showing what each of the images looks like when correctly folded.

The original artwork by itself might not make sense outside of the context of the Mad Fold-In page. Therefore the artwork is presented framed with overlays showing all the published Fold-In text as well as the "A" and "B" arrows. Each framed painting sells for $1,500. Two have been sold as of this writing. The sole example of preliminary art is offered at $500 and gives some evidence of the daunting technical challenges Al Jaffee faces with each issue of Mad.

Exhibition poster for "The Mad Fold-In Art of Al Jaffee" at the Scott Eder Gallery

Exhibition Information

Biographical information on Al Jaffee from the Scott Eder Gallery

Al Jaffee, Original Fold-In art without overlay, Mad #499, $1,500, the Scott Eder Gallery

Al Jaffee, Original Fold-In art with overlay, Mad #499, $1,500, the Scott Eder Gallery

Al Jaffee, Original Fold-In art with overlay, Mad #509, $1,500, Sold. The Scott Eder Gallery


The gallery provided a booklet, left, showing how each piece of artwork looks when folded in. On the right is the original art to the Fold-In from Mad #509 as framed with text overlay.

Al Jaffee, Original Fold-In art with overlay, Mad #518, $1,500, the Scott Eder Gallery

Al Jaffee, Preliminary Fold-In art, Mad #518, colored pencil on paper, 15x14" (20x19" framed), $500, the Scott Eder Gallery


Note:  I have one previous blog post about Al Jaffee, and several posts about the Scott Eder Gallery.

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Sunday, November 4, 2012

Al Jaffee for the Venice Family Clinic

The Venice Family Clinic in Los Angeles was founded in 1970 and today is the largest free clinic in the country. The Venice Art Walk & Auctions founded in 1979 is the Clinic's annual fundraiser, annually receiving donations from as many as 400 artists. This drawing was apparently donated by Al Jaffee of Mad Magazine in 1997. It recently has been listed on eBay but I believe it has not yet been sold.

Al Jaffee, Best Wishes, Venice Family Clinic, 1997, eBay Listing Ended September 20, 2012 and Item Description



Al Jaffee, Best Wishes, Venice Family Clinic, 1997

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