Here are two related examples of original drawings by Charles Addams. Both depict Wednesday, the somewhat morbid daughter of the Addams Family who is here depicted as a more-or-less ordinary teenage girl thinking about her dream man. Both presentation drawings were made in Addams cartoon collections and both incorporate the Simon & Schuster logo of the sower, who doubles as the idealized man on young Wednesday's mind.
The first is undated and appears in a copy of the collection Black Maria (1960). It was offered for sale by the Complete Traveller Antiquarian Bookstore back in 2010 when "The Addams Family" musical was on Broadway. It received some publicity in the New York Times City Room blog of July 1, 2010 where questions of its authenticity were discussed fairly reasonably. Its $2,000 price tag was also duly noted.
The second drawing dates from 1978 and shows a reclining Wednesday thinking once again about the man on the logo, the sower. It appears in a copy of Favorite Haunts (1976) and has been available from Baumann Rare Books since late 2012 or earlier for $3,800.
The first is undated and appears in a copy of the collection Black Maria (1960). It was offered for sale by the Complete Traveller Antiquarian Bookstore back in 2010 when "The Addams Family" musical was on Broadway. It received some publicity in the New York Times City Room blog of July 1, 2010 where questions of its authenticity were discussed fairly reasonably. Its $2,000 price tag was also duly noted.
The second drawing dates from 1978 and shows a reclining Wednesday thinking once again about the man on the logo, the sower. It appears in a copy of Favorite Haunts (1976) and has been available from Baumann Rare Books since late 2012 or earlier for $3,800.
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| Charles Addams, A standing Wednesday sees the Simon & Schuster sower in her wardrobe mirror, inscribed "For Helen/Can this be love?/Chas Addams" in Black Maria (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960) |
Charles Addams, A standing Wednesday sees the Simon & Schuster sower in her wardrobe mirror, inscribed "For Helen/Can this be love?/Chas Addams"
in Black Maria (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960)
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| http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/familiar-pigtails-in-a-house-of-vintage-books/?_r=0 |
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| Charles Addams, A reclining Wednesday dreams of the Simon & Schuster sower. Inscribed "For Pat and Charles with all best/Chas Addams/1978" in Favorite Haunts (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1976) |
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| Charles Addams, Favorite Haunts (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1976) |
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http://www.baumanrarebooks.com/rare-books/addams-charles/favorite-haunts/83443.aspx |
October 23, 2016 Update: Sold!
Note: Charles Addams remains a towering figure among 20th century cartoonists. Previous blog posts about his art may be found here.
The website for the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation is here. No word yet on when the Charles Addams Catalogue Raisonné will be ready, but I'm ready for it now.
Charles Addams is as newsworthy as ever. Find stories about him on Ink Spill here.
The website for the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation is here. No word yet on when the Charles Addams Catalogue Raisonné will be ready, but I'm ready for it now.
Charles Addams is as newsworthy as ever. Find stories about him on Ink Spill here.
Presentation copies of books with original drawings in them occasionally find their way onto this blog. You can take a look at a few of them here.
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