Newton G.Brand, Jr.'s, Copy of Gahan Wilson's America

Texas banker Newton G. Brand, Jr., (1929-2011) corresponded with a number of New Yorker cartoonists, requesting that they personalize copies of their books by mail. Gahan Wilson (1930-2019) was one of those who complied. In Brand's copy of Gahan Wilson's America (1985), Wilson acknowledges with the word again that this is not the only instance that the artist and the collector have come together in this way. The book was inscribed for Brand on November 19, 1991, some six years after publication. It includes an original drawing of hanging dice and a skull, which recalls an idea that appears on the book's dust jacket. 

Gahan Wilson's signature and date

Gahan Wilson
eBay listing ended July 7, 2026

https://www.ebay.com/itm/377307892029_

Gahan Wilson
eBay listing

Gahan Wilson
eBay bid history
There were seventeen bids in very small increments when the final bidder won the book. Who is that guy?

Note:  I remain eager to use this blog to share books inscribed by Gahan Wilson and other New Yorker cartoonists to Newton Brand, Jr., and other collectors.

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Chuck Jones: Coyote Catches Road Runner by Tom Shales of the Washington Post

Back in 1975, animator Chuck Jones presented Tom Shales of the Washington Post with the ultimate compliment to a journalist. The original pencil drawing of everyone's favorite persistent coyote at his moment of triumph is available from Argosy Books. 

Chuck Jones
Argosy Book Store listing accessed July 6, 2026

https://www.argosybooks.com/pages/books/337381/chuck-jones/original-sketch-of-wile-e-coyote-with-personal-inscription

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Barbara Shermund: No Time for Crime by Charlotte Murray Russell

No Time for Crime by Charlotte Murray Russell is the eighth book in the Jane Amanda Edwards mystery series. It seems we have some catching up to do. This wartime novel was published in 1945. Original art by illustrator Barbara Shermund was evidently intended for and presumably used as the book jacket. It was sold recently on eBay. The story looks . . . eventful.

Barbara Shermund's signature

Barbara Shermund
eBay listing ended May 9, 2026

https://www.ebay.com/itm/147302644383?_skw=signed+Barbara+Shermund&itmmeta=01KWTHRV3FAE4AEX6A2XYWW49Z&hash=item224bebfa9f:gdl0AAeSwrWdp~3fz&itmpr

p=enc%3AAQALAAAA8GfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xCsSUjLc3wconGa9uSHF%2FrZmy4YfKX%2FGF7g%2BRPwRUqmyrsK%2B5pwvwV6EHk2EL9%2B4IWWYeDlW%

2B8xSDEFNKiJez0JrWlEir7vWlz4JlEORlgMqqs%2B%2FnA%2BiBL4%2FiCwiYFEcyWZPlIZE4y44trinARGHYqWayWtqhqysrJB6HPL8Jrdtm2x1LeLnq

3pmx8x5PqhqEWpKtLSh1zBpIWx1AoHSLfFcoIpxPMzGMT9GYvNlDn05DS7Js5CO0zv3%2FJVCdJei08nt2D73t%2FGnSDnH0pPBTSRrq1%2Fk

6G4JX1pNMRWTAAtqQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_Kx49HmZw

Barbara Shermund
eBay item description

Note:  After scarcely more than eighty years, you'd think it was a simple enough thing to find an image of the dust jacket, right? Despite my alleged Googling skills, I've come up with nothing so far. Perhaps someone else can do better. 

The book is reviewed not unfavorably in the New York Times here.

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The D'Oench Family's Copy of The Chas Addams Mother Goose

An interesting copy of The Chas Addams Mother Goose (New York: Windmill Books, 1967) came up on the AbeBooks platform this past May, offered for $700 by a Middlebury, Vermont, bookseller named—I kid you not—Browsing Is Arousing. The book was described as signed and inscribed by Charles Addams with an original drawing of a hockey player. The only seller image, alas, was a tiny thumbnail of the front dust cover which only got blurrier when enlarged.

The Chas Addams Mother Goose

AbeBooks listing accessed May 11, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Charles-Addams-Mother-Goose-DRAWING-INSCRIPTION/32414355675/bd

I was quite naturally intrigued by all this but I was
unwilling to commit $700 to this book as I sometimes
do in my Sight Unseen ventures. This time I wanted
to see this hockey player to make certain it was the
genuine work of Addams. The seller complied with my
request for an image, explaining that the endpaper
was a deep blue and that he had eliminated the color
from his image.


The handwriting and signature struck me as genuine, as
did the drawing. I was delighted to see that the hockey
player is none other than Pugsley of the Addams Family.
Addams signed it in the year of publication. So I went
ahead and bought the book, taking it off the AbeBooks
market: 

Here then are my own images of the book. Write if you prefer thumbnails. 

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Sail4th 250 Parade of Sail: Class B Tall Ships

On July 3, the Sail4th 250 Parade of Sail came down the East River with Class B tall ships from around the world. These traditionally-rigged schooners and sloops are less than 40 meters in length. They operate under motor power. They proceded from the Hell Gate Bridge to Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn. The larger Class A tall ships with square-sail rigs will be seen on parade in the Hudson River on Independence Day. These photographs were taken from the East River Esplanade by my family members and me in 100 degree heat. Roosevelt Island and a few other areas of Queens may be seen in the background. 

South Street Seaport Museum

Gadzooks

U.S. Coast Guard

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