Attempted Bloggery

Saturday, July 4, 2026

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

05289

Friday, July 3, 2026

Anatol Kovarsky: Fourth of July Fireworks at Coney Island

Anatol Kovarsky's New Yorker cover for the issue of July 6, 1963, shows a lone fireworks barge off Coney Island illuminating the night sky on the Fourth of July. The original art was sold by the CartoonBank on November 14, 2006 with a letter attesting that its value at the time was $9,000, presumably the selling price. This spring it came to eBay professionally framed alongside the printed magazine cover.

The colors in the waves off Coney Island may have faded over time. It is also possible that the colors were enhanced in The New Yorker's printing process.

The seller's asking price on April 1 was $12,000 or Best Offer.

Anatol Kovarsky
eBay listing accessed April 1, 2026

https://www.ebay.com/itm/306850543292?

Anatol Kovarsky
eBay item description

The seller was apparently new to the auction site. Within a day, the price was cut in half.

April 2

By April 7, the price was reduced another $200.

April 7

Next came $5,200:

April 9?

The seller next raised the price to $5,500, in order to make a seller offer of $500 off. Thus it sold on April 19 for the seller offer of $5,000.

05288

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Roxie Munro: Covering the Court for WDVM-TV9, Washington, DC

New Yorker cover artist and children's book illustrator Roxie Munro spent five years working as a television courtroom artist in Washington, DC, also covering the House, Senate, and Supreme Court. This came to an end in 1981 when she sold her first cover to The New Yorker and moved to New York City. One of her courtroom pieces, from January 1980, was offered on eBay last year. It was originally broadcast on WDVM-TV9, then an NBC affiliate. This sketch illustrates the Abscam trial.

Ms. Munro had a correspondence with the seller:

Roxie Munro
eBay listing accessed November 27, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/167960611886?_skw=Roxie+Munro+Court&itmmeta=01KB34RXGS9V44SS1T50913J52&hash=item271b3b8c2e:g:l0UAAeSwOCxoxg6y&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fqIGVGC9CLypOke6HjNQO1dnlTuJf4NTF6hnp5VwXxC3W%2B8EGUcJNirMfhOBipzP9DYAY5IWMxrDl%2F7flsn%2BndqIMk5

XR3rOlMbGC5D2LEyc8v0tUnSHtsbr87n1vaHk72ufLfmB725Wma8QeeF7OmOZUsaFI3HHA8730W446FcgF6nsKZJne0FTEHgzIuCqcBAg8EaZ7igkVMqzrK56CgkavoNmbUyCsUfGHxy0an9aynd2dW7z84Vo1n4VjuD3YDeQ6tryvOvUa4e2B662rMTmH22bIr6d7VvndgNIpKzw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8rY4-TYZg

Roxie Munro
eBay item description

Note: The present work was previously offered for sale by Alexandria Auctions.

05287

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Arthur Rackham: An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog, From The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

In 1929, George G. Harrap & Co, Ltd., published a splendid new edition of Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield with illustrations by Arthur Rackham. With this volume, Harrap introduced the practice of setting aside some ten "special copies" with original drawings produced by Rackham that did not appear in the edition. Recently, Peter Harrington brough copy no. 2 to the market. Rackham's original drawing illustrates Goldsmith's An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog from Chapter 17. Priced at over $28,000 US, it found a buyer in less than a week.