James Montgomery Flag for Quaker State Motor Oil

An advertisement for Quaker State motor oil appeared in the October 13, 1941 issue of Life magazine. It looked back on the unhappy road travelers of a quarter century earlier, reminding us how "crude" some early cars—and their engine lubricants—were. The splendid illustration of the miserable motorists of yesteryear was by James Montgomery Flagg. 

It shook us up . . . in more ways than one!
James Montgomery Flagg
Life, October 13, 1941, p. 13

https://books.google.com/books?id=uk4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false

Note:  Please contact me with any other illustrations that James Montgomery Flagg may have created for Quaker State.

04829

Saul Steinberg: Flying Harpies

Saul Steinberg's Flying Harpies was sold at Swann Galleries in the December 12 Illustration Art sale. It is dated 1965 but it bears a 1966 copyright stamp for the year it was published in Le Masque. While far from Steinberg's most finished work, it does have some of his familiar elements: a rainbow, reflections in water, and a map.

Saul Steinberg
Swann Galleries Illustration Art sale of December 12, 2024
Hammer price

https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/SAUL-STEINBERG-(1914-1999)-Flying-Harpies?saleno=2690&lotNo=195&refNo=823462

With Buyer's Premium

04828

Charles Addams: Product Placement Confession

On December 12, Swann Galleries auctioned an original drawing by Charles Addams published in The New Yorker's issue of October 30, 1948. It's a scene of hard-boiled police detectives taking down the elaborate confession of a murderess. The light source on the right casts film noir shadows to the left.

" . . . and then I disconnected the booster from the Electro-Snuggie [B]lanket and put him in the deep-freeze. In the morning, I defrosted him and ran him through the Hand[i] Home Slicer and then the Jiffy Burger Grind, and after that I fed him down the Dispose-All. Then I washed my clothes in the Bendix, tidied up the kitchen, and went to a movie."
Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, October 30, 1948, p. 20

Charles Addams
Swann Galleries Illustration Art auction of December 12, 2024
Hammer price

https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/(NEW-YORKER)-CHARLES-ADDAMS-(1912-1988)-And-then-I-disconnec?saleno=2690&lotNo=56&refNo=824191

With Buyer's Premium

" . . . and then I disconnected the booster from the Electro-Snuggie Blanket and put him in the deep-freeze. In the morning, I defrosted him and ran him through the Handi Home Slicer and then the Jiffy Burger Grind, and after that I fed him down the Dispose-All. Then I washed my clothes in the Bendix, tidied up the kitchen, and went to a movie."
Charles Addams
The New Yorker, October 30, 1948, p. 20

" . . . and then I disconnected the booster from the Electro-Snuggie [B]lanket and put him in the deep-freeze. In the morning, I defrosted him and ran him through the Hand[i] Home Slicer and then the Jiffy Burger Grind, and after that I fed him down the Dispose-All. Then I washed my clothes in the Bendix, tidied up the kitchen, and went to a movie."
Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, October 30, 1948, p. 20

With a cartoon by Charles Addams and a spot drawing by K. Friedrick

Addams's grisly scenario is rendered comical by the absurd enumeration of supposed home products.

Spot drawing of a Chinese laundry with a Vote Here sign
K. Friedrick

Now just who is K. Friedrick?

04827

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #926

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #926 from the issue of December 16, 2024, we visit a standup comedy club. A tomato is onstage at the microphone while a broccoli stalk and a carrot are seated up front. The carrot speaks. The drawing is by Elisabeth McNair.

"We're leaving at the first bent carrot joke."

These captions were not USDA approved:

"I thought his humor would be too raw."
"I might enjoy this if I were stewed."
"He's funny, but there isn't any meat there."
"Let's throw some nightshade."
"He's looking at us. Don't turn red."

04826

My Copy of At Wit's End: Cartoonists of The New Yorker by Alen MacWeeney and Michael Maslin

On November 21 at the Rizzoli Bookstore on Broadway, At Wit's End: Cartoonists of The New Yorker received its official launch. The book includes Alen MacWeeney's striking photographs of more than fifty New Yorker cartoonists past and present with accompanying profiles by Michael Maslin and a select sampling of cartoons. This is the first book celebrating the centennial of cartoonists at The New Yorker. One hopes there will be more. 

Seen on the panel at the event, left to right, are moderator Charles Traub, MacWeeney, and Maslin. Justin Sheen's photograph from the book is up on the screen behind them.

The half title page of my copy is signed by the two principals, Maslin and MacWeeney.

Many New Yorker cartoonists included in the book were present at the event. Should I have asked those cartoonists to add their signatures to that half title page? Maybe, but the cartoonists I approached all gravitated toward signing their own pages on the first (of two) spreads without any coaching. Here then are their pages alphabetically as signed, sometimes with a drawing, starting with that of David Borchart:

Note:  As you see, at the event I got fourteen people in total to sign my copy of At Wit's End. Although other cartoonists were also present at Rizzoli, I missed out on obtaining the signatures of Ellie Black, Akeem Roberts, Justin Sheen, and Victor Varnado. I suppose I have no one to blame but myself. If anyone did obtain signed pages from these cartoonists at the launch event or elsewhere and wishes to share them here, I'd be happy to append photos or scans of the relevant pages to this post.

As of this writing, Rizzoli still has books signed by the authors available on its website here.

Cartoonist Michael Maslin posted an extensive account of the book launch event on his Ink Spill blog here.

04825

A Letter from Gluyas Williams to Tom Sanders

In 1932, a fan named Tom Sanders, interested, apparently, in becoming a cartoonist, requested an autograph from Gluyas Williams, one of the most technically skilled artists working for Harold Ross's New Yorker. Williams responded to the request with an ALS written on his Boston stationery. It was sold in September on eBay.

For what it's worth, numerous closeups of handwritten letters don't really help:

And the verso:

Gluyas Williams
eBay listing ended September 13, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/166926813309?_skw=signed+Yorker&itmmeta=01JEMDPB7E7H24N1XTSME6NSDQ&hash=item26dd9d087d:g:x8UAAOSw9ptmw1oh&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmjdcZXuAzwldE

J0RNEU8E3bRVz7eS7mW8oJNReIWcUuw64kQM%2BP0%2FAw0l2Zz3U3mc0s0TKG786m18C%2FZkiQgHH1zj%2F51g3zABJbN67liyQSiqLPj6GtR8G6Xge%2FvxSglNvJLF3D0TbheCmalpvPOIDQCe5yszhdKslrtR%2B2SJiA

9lZXOem4nS0hFlZGXTHdTVpMWkv%2B1rswOIu5XW8F%2FIt1U0TBjd7y8Uimn2cMwkCm1lEN5myMpsEj0BRZ18zhZuUeefA9rhN4YhTLrZ7PA6aqA9U6zgUt5q%2Ff2Aaf2Q5%2BA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_Kz2Y31ZA

Note:  If this letter looks familiar, that may be because it was featured on Ink Spill's post of September 17, 2024, complete with transcription and a better photo: https://michaelmaslin.com/tuesday-spill-an-art-spiegelman-documentary-gluyas-williams-on-being-a-cartoonist-its-lots-of-fun-at-times/

04824

Edward Sorel: John Barrymore Wanted to be a Cartoonist . . .

An ink and watercolor comic strip by Edward Sorel was published in The Nation on December 12, 1988. In it, Sorel muses on the failed cartooning ambitions of actors John Barrymore and Gary Cooper, and of writer John Updike. He takes a somewhat sardonic view of his own success as a cartoonist, proud that he's achieved what those three cultural titans could not, and choosing not to dwell on the relatively low pay he earned from his "special kind of talent." The original art of this little career day gem had been given by Sorel to Elizabeth and Dick Hyman of jazz fame. It was sold by their estate and thence to eBay.

Edward Sorel
eBay listing ended November 8, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/176662593331?_skw=Edward+SOrel+signed&itmmeta=01JEMM08MTDWDDM8WN550FN2H9&hash=item2921e93f33:g:CtkAAOSwYPlnIX2k&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmAEE

L1b8Xn7lKbBNFyZGF1XN0KXJi7sNC2PjV59aawCLCWVi%2BHfVkEoC3A%2BmHTXs%2BTdorffWlzs6hfdPwAF7W6sv7P94yQ0QL8TU2ImhW4Y%2FWzyv1pZR6vHNlL2Q6Jb15kXdjuRrsVibgQcbrIUzpQMi9yvoES9%2BAuHlx39wv8rziOB

hcaVjtjmu0SCzEQwGZ8JuI3Blc8cvKe%2BFM7UoGHvY89Tz1u92UY55UM2uO%2FmYP%2FQnFOXHGiXTt17dTbw68AQWZptWrK6T1%2FjGCjlcfR7ppy7g5G%2F8j%2FWy4%2Fsg%2F5gg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR76KgZT1ZA

Edward Sorel
eBay item description

Edward Sorel
eBay bid history
A single bidder places two bids, one at the last minute to help insure a win.

04823

Hilary Knight: Renata Adler as Eloise

Bookseller Charles Agvent offers an original magazine illustration by Hilary Knight, the illustrator of Kay Thompson's Eloise books. It shows critic Renata Adler, we are told, in the guise of Eloise. We also see a well-dressed man receiving a shoe shine, perhaps at the Plaza Hotel. 

Hilary Knight
AbeBooks listing accessed December 8, 2024

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=32067327911&searchurl=attrs%3Dsgnd%26ds%3D30%26kn%3Dnew%2BYorker%26rollup%3Don%26sgnd%3Don%26sortby%3D0&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp0-_-title24

Note:  So the question we should all have is: In what magazine, at what date, and in what context did this drawing by Hilary Knight appear in print? I've got nothing, but I'd appreciate hearing from anyone with a bit more than that.

04822

Otto Soglow:: A 1951 Little King Christmas Card

The Little King appears on a 1951 Christmas card designed by his creator Otto Soglow and published by his syndicate King Features. The monarch is shown carrying a Christmas tree home through the snow, as kings are wont to do. The vintage card opens to reveal how the Little King trimmed the tree and gave it pride of place.

Otto Soglow
eBay listing accessed December 10, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/156495847560?_skw=Little+King+Christmas+Card&itmmeta=01JESC2ABXHS00N63BE60G95KZ&hash=item246fe12088:g:gc4AAOSw4N1j0WIQ&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKlmbsokPDd8OUb4VoAgz7qjq8jaToPs4ngElbZs6dgBj%2BD89BqqRvseQIdRe%2BStRVSVNZFdFlHrDMfaP9dd9iCxCkzYy3XGh4U4JaCzlCLJK1o8vVKK

Wh4sav%2B0C7ORjyoaAog4agMAO17wUGtjlCFwQlPq4zoZTI2F5zu5xf%2F0xhWTdEtKat3CDJAHEZXL76tAD4pKpMOac7Q26yK7jfkuNtWmtGHNL1Mkl2w30PyrbnY%2BRWrRkpS%2F3CbNLXp%2Fq7kv81mKkDjAsFIkyeeDdeeUMhVZINy2B7O9IdMtBojrXA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4ymiaz2ZA

Otto Soglow
eBay item description

04821