Sergio Aragonés: A George M. Cohan First Day Cover

I have frequently expressed my perplexity at the phenomenon of first day covers signed by celebrities, particularly when the stamp and the signer have nothing to do with each other. Every now and then, though, something comes along that makes my day and it's usually because of the creativity of a cartoonist.

In 1990, when Mad's Sergio Aragonés was in all likelihood, attending a convention, he was asked, it would seem, to sign the 1978 first day cover commemorating the George M. Cohan centennial. He knew what to do with it.

Sergio Aragonés
eBay listing accessed March 10, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275712042532?hash=item4031b7e624%3Ag%3An3oAAOSwxa1j-ryI&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338181027&customid=&toolid=10049

Sergio Aragonés
eBay item description

04254

Pretentious Krazy

"Mary's a Grand Old Name" was a song in George M. Cohan's "45 Minutes from Broadway" which had its premier in 1906. The chorus states:

For it is Mary, Mary
Plain as any name can be
But with propriety, society
Will say Marie.

http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/300U-2896.htm

Perhaps George Herriman picked up on this Mary/Marie thing in his Krazy Kat comic strip of February 20, 1922 where the residents of Kokonino are putting on airs. Herriman colored the strip by hand after publication and presented it, appropriately, "To 'our' Mary...."

George Herriman, Original hand-colored artwork for Krazy Kat, February 20, 1922

Illustration House, Spring Premier Auction, May 21, 2005
Sold for $21,375 including the 12.5% BP

 http://www.illustration-house.com/recent/a31/a31_090.html

Note:  Relax, there's lots more by George Herriman on the blog here.

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