Rube Goldberg was a member. So was James Montgomery Flagg. Leading illustrators of the day belonged to the Dutch Treat Club and contributed to its annual yearbook. This was limited to 500 privately-printed copies and featured more than a few risqué drawings and photographs. The postwar theme of the 1946 yearbook was "Reconversion or the Dutch Treat Club Gets Back to Normal,"
normal being a relative term....
A rather unusual copy of this book was just sold on eBay. The spine is sadly unroofed but it still has the book cover featuring the 1946 design by John E. Sheridan against a historical backdrop of older yearbook covers. A true gentleman always makes certain that a lady gets home safely.
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| John E. Sheridan, Dutch Treat Yearbook 1946 |
Our good friend Whitney Darrow illustrates the title page with a bookish nude. We already knew this was the unexpurgated edition, right?
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Whitney Darrow, Jr. Bookish nude.
Title page to Reconversion or the Dutch Treat Club Gets Back to Normal
The Forty-First Anniversary of the Dutch Treat Club |
Readers of this blog have been asked to ponder a great many perplexing questions, but never one of such grave importance to the dignity and station of the British monarchy as this: Is it possible that Edward, Duke of Windsor, would sign his autograph in a copy of the Dutch Treat Club Yearbook above a cartoon of an enema bag? The eBay seller hedges a bit here, but the Duke very well might do such a thing and almost certainly did. This in turn raises the rather interesting speculation of whether the endpaper sketch opposite by illustrator Carl Mueller is actually the Duke's portrait. The gentleman in the sketch would seem to have a mustache and to be a bit older than the Duke so, alas, probably not.
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| Carl Mueller, portrait sketch, left. Signature of Edward, Duke of Windsor above Rube Goldberg, Alpha enema bag cartoon, right. |
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Edward, Duke of Windsor, 1949
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| Signature of Edward, Duke of Windsor |
Here are the known signatures of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor for comparison:
Signatures of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
Boxer Mickey Walker retired in 1935 and later surprised everyone by taking up painting. Ham Fisher's Joe Palooka is pretty quick on the uptake and sees how this might be a good idea for himself. The onlookers's comments seem to be tailored to an audience of illustrators.
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| Ham Fisher, Joe Palooka takes up painting |
James Montgomery Flagg contemplates Surrealism,
Life magazine, and Salvador Dali.
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| James Montgomery Flagg, Art Marches On |
Paul Webb is known for his cartoons of hillbillies. Say, is that a see-through dress? Lynn Bogue Hunt (1878-1960) is known for his wildlife illustrations.
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Paul Webb," "Welcome home, cousin Tizzie. How long afore you kin reconvert to we-uns?"
Lynn Bogue Hunt, A Few Added Bird Notes |
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EBay Listing Ended June 9, 2015
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| EBay Item Description |
Any questions? No questions.
Not too long ago a different copy in better condition--but without an original sketch or royal autograph--sold for a bit more.
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| John E. Sheridan, Dutch Treat Yearbook 1946 |
Rube Goldberg's cartoon referes to his Reuben Award design.
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| Rube Goldberg, Pre-War and Post-War Sculpture. James Montgomery Flagg, Art Marches On |
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| "Reconverting the Sports Writers" |
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EBay Listing Ended June 1, 2015
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Endpapers
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Note: Well, now you know a little bit more than you wanted about the Duke of Windsor's social activities in New York. To learn what other pressing topics are covered on this blog, check out the handy
link index. This was first published here in December and has been in a continual state of update. At this point it's almost kind of impressive....
I did not put the acute accent on the word
risqué. Google did that all by itself.
The New Yorker covered the Dutch Treat Club annual show back in 1925 and I got around to covering the
New Yorker ninety years after the fact. It's here in the archives.
I suppose booksellers will oblige me occasionally by posting highlights from the Dutch Treat Club's annual yearbooks, but readers can help too by sending along the real rarities: those pages from yearbooks past containing original drawings by the members.
Recently, I've been showing a bit of the art of
Whitney Darrow, Jr. Clothed or unclothed, it's all good.
You simply can't have this kind of blog without
Rube Goldberg. Do you suppose anyone else could have drawn that enema bag?
James Montgomery Flagg ain't too bad either.
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