R. O. Blechman at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

One of the many pleasures currently on view at the Society of Illustrators is R. O. Blechman's original art for The New Yorker's 1996 anniversary issue. It is, of course, a witty variation on Rea Irvin's classic Eustace Tilley cover. Who says a woman can't be as effete holding a monocle as a man? This is just a single piece from the exhibition "Drawn From The New Yorker:  A Centennial Celebration."

Eustacia Tilley
R. O. Blechman
The New Yorker, February 26 & March 2, 1996

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Carla and Simon Bowden's Copy of Man Bites Man by Steven Heller

Man Bites Man:  Two Decades of Satiric Art is a 1981 survey by prolific author and editor Steven Heller. A copy inscribed by Heller to Carla and Simon Bowden in the year of publication is currently available on AbeBooks for a reasonable $30. (I believe Carla worked at the Leo Burnett advertising agency at the time and the couple either lived or came to live in Westport. I also believe they eventually divorced.) Heller has written, coauthored, or edited more than one-hundred thirty books, mostly about design. A partial listing of his published work on Wikipedia currently does not include this book or indeed any of his books published prior to 1986.

Cover drawing by Edward Koren

The world-class cartoonists whose work appears in this project

Steven Heller
AbeBooks listing accessed September 3, 2022

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30825029207&searchurl=kn%3Dgeorge%2Bbooth%26sgnd%3Don%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-image20

Note:  That back cover shows the signatures of many of the first-rate cartoonists who originally captivated me, inspiring my interest in the field. I would be honored to hear from anyone with personal reminiscences, original art, photographs, correspondence, or other rarities relating to any of them.

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David Pearce's Copy of Behind the Lines by R. O. Blechman

Dr. David Pearce graduated from New York Medical College in the Class of 1966 and he practiced ophthalmology on the Upper East Side for over forty years. After he passed away in 2015, much of his excellent cartoon book collection came to the market.  David from Manhattan was fortunate enough to come across Pearce's copy of Behind the Lines (1980) inscribed by R. O. Blechman with a very appropriate "20/20." It was priced at only "$15, which most people would happily pay for a nice clean unsigned copy of this book." I can see that.

Note:  My thanks to David from Manhattan for sharing the photos. This is David's forty-seventh contribution here.

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Maurice Sendak: Studies for R. O. Blechman's Beer Man

Maurice Sendak's sheet of concept sketches depict a German beer man creating and enjoying his product. These drawings of the estimable brewer were done in 1997 for a proposed commercial R. O. Blechman was to animate for a Japanese advertising agency. The beer man concept was rejected by the agency, and twenty years later the artwork failed to find a buyer at auction. Cheers anyway!

Maurice Sendak
Bonhams New York

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24252/lot/172/

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eBay 101: R. O. Blechman Original Sin

A perpetual source of consternation on eBay is the widespread inability of many sellers to distinguish original works of art from common prints. Sometimes this arises out of a seller's natural inclination to make an item appear as rare and desirable as possible. At other times, it is clear that many sellers don't have the basic vocabulary to distinguish original works of art from ordinary prints.

In the following example, what looks like an attractive if unremarkable offset lithograph of R. O. Blechman's October 1, 1979 New Yorker cover depicts New York's illuminated skyline. The poster includes the full magazine logo sans date and price, as well as a printed copyright notice. The work is referred to in the eBay listing's title as "Original New Yorker Cover Art Painting Blechman..." The item description also calls it an "original proto"—presumably prototype—and states that this is signed and original although it appears to be neither. The listing specifically states it is not a reproduction. The seller further goes on to call this piece "an original mock artist's creation"—one hopes this refers to a mock-up rather than a mock artist—with "slight fading of the poster face color." So this one eBay listing refers to the item as a painting, a drawing, a "proto," and a poster too! Offered at $7,599, it not surprisingly received no bids on eBay.

eBay Listing Ended January 24, 2017

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-NEW-YORKER-COVER-ART-PAINTING-BLECHMAN-WORLD-TRADE-CENTER-TOWERS-NYC-/351941587666?hash=item51f15a72d2%3Ag%3A874AAOSwJ7RYX4Kw&nma=true&si=YQGb25QThn5Fxe78BW8tTy6VzZY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

eBay Item Description

R. O. Blechman, The New Yorker, October 1, 1979

Attempted Bloggery's quick links:

R. O. Blechman

eBay 101

The New Yorker

Attempted Bloggery's Original Index

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Amadeo & Maladeo Signed by R. O. Blechman

I finally got to meet R. O. Blechman at the MoCCA Arts Festival in April. He signed a copy of his new book Amadeo & Maladeo and made a small drawing.

Book Signing at MoCCA Arts Festival 2016

R. O. Blechman, Amadeo & Maladeo:  A Musical Duet, 2016

Inscribed with a drawing of a bust "Cheers!/R. O. Blechman"

Attempted Bloggery's quick links:

The MoCCA Arts Festival

Signed Books with Drawings

R. O. Blechman

Attempted Bloggery's Classical Index

02031

New Yorker Christmas Cards: Ho! Ho! Vs. Ho-Hum

Three times over the the past two months, two complete sets of 1982 New Yorker cartoonist Christmas cards were offered for sale on eBay. The cards are the work of thirteen of the magazine's artists. All are in color and all are quite charming, but they didn't  attract any bids even when the opening bid price was reduced to a ridiculously low amount.

New Yorker card assortment

Cards by Warren Miller, Ed Fisher, and Lee Lorenz

Cards by Mischa Richter, James Stevenson, Dana Fradon, and R. O. Blechman

Cards by Mick Stevens, Jack Ziegler, Frank Modell, and Mischa Richter

Cards by Jack Ziegler, Dana Fradon, Frank Modell, and Lee Lorenz

Cards by Gahan Wilson, Dana Fradon, and James Stevenson

Cards by Mischa Richter, Mick Stevens, Robert Weber, and Dana Fradon

Cards by R. O. Blechman and Charles Saxon

One set of New Yorker cards is still boxed

Card designs of R. O. Blechman, Dana Fradon, Ed Fisher, and Lee Lorenz

Card designs of Warren Miller, Mischa Richter, Frank Modell, Charles Saxon, and Mick Stevens

Card designs by James Stevenson, Robert Weber, Gahan Wilson, and Jack Ziegler
"Christmas cards. Ho! Ho! vs. ho-hum."

eBay Listing Ended October 9, 2015

http://www.ebay.com/itm/52-NEW-YORKER-CARTOON-CHRISTMAS-CARDS-1981-unused-GAHAN-SAXON-ZIEGLER-etc-/191704021587?hash=item2ca2733a53%3Ag%3AFM0AAOSwu4BVtf-j&nma=true&si=Zv4PhLp6HocGRC23iqci2JeQ2LI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

The starting bid was subsequently reduced, but not the shipping cost:

eBay Listing Ended November 1, 2015

eBay Item Description

Note:  The blog archives have more posts about Christmas cards.

There's also lots more to see here about these cartoonists:

R. O. Blechman

Ed Fisher

Dana Fradon

Lee Lorenz

Warren Miller

Frank Modell

Mischa Richter

Charles Saxon

Mick Stevens

James Stevenson

Robert Weber

Gahan Wilson

Jack Ziegler

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