Saturday, September 30, 2017

Orson B. Lowell on the Football Field

An original oil on canvas by Orson B. Lowell served as a cover illustration for The Elks magazine in October of 1933 and might have been published earlier in Judge or Leslie's. The subject is a football tackle. This tackle is no longer legal because of the risk of neck injury. The sale price ten years ago was $10, 350.

Orson B. Lowell
Original art, The Elks, October 1933

Illustration House June 2, 2007 Auction
http://www.findartinfo.com/english/list-prices-by-artist/8738/orson-byron-lowell.html


Another football illustration by Lowell is available on Etsy from ThisArtGallery for $7,000, which seems a fair price:



Orson Lowell's signature

Orson Lowell
Etsy Listing as of September 24, 2017

Orson Lowell Etsy Item Description



Note:  Does anyone have a copy of The Elks Magazine for October 1933? I'm fresh out, but I'd love to see the cover. I'd also love to hear from anyone who knows whether this illustration was also published in Judge or Leslie's. See, I don't ask for much.

Orson B. Lowell—the B. is for Byron, of course—is new to this blog but he isn't new to the Society of Illustrators. The exhibition Fashion and Satire: The Drawings off Orson Byron Lowell and Charles Dana Gibson is currently on view at the Society through October 28.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:


Football


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Friday, September 29, 2017

Sheet Music from Murray Anderson's Almanac

Rare sheet music from "Murray Anderson's Almanac," a 1929 Broadway revue, has found its way onto eBay. The show's creators include Noel Coward, Rube Goldberg, and Peter Arno. Imagine a time when being a famous cartoonist got you invited to work with Noël Coward on Broadway! But let's have Arno's biographer Michael Maslin tell you about it:

Michael Maslin. Peter Arno: The Mad, Mad World of The New Yorker's Greatest Cartoonist, New York:  Regan Arts, 2016, page 64.



"I May Be Wrong (But, I Think You're Wonderful)" is a lovely sentiment marred only perhaps by a superfluous comma. I trust your uke is in tune:



"Murray Anderson's Almanac"
eBay Listing as of September 24, 2017

"Murray Anderson's Almanac," 1929
eBay Item Description


Peter Arno advertised for Camel cigarettes in the show's Playbill:
Playbill
"Murray Anderson's Almanac," 1929
Peter Arno advertisement for Camel


A 1929 recording of the song


Note:  I may be wrong, but I think you're wonderful too. And I'm not just saying that to get you to send me rare images of the art of Peter Arno and Rube Goldberg.

A completely different edition of "Murray Anderson's Almanac" opened on Broadway in 1953.

Michael Maslin's 2016 biography Peter Arno: The Mad, Mad World of The New Yorker's Greatest Cartoonist is available on Amazon and at other places where fine books are still sold.


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Thursday, September 28, 2017

Eldon Dedini: Putting Up Antibiotic Resistance

Eldon Dedini's New Yorker cartoon of December 9, 1967 may have been the first cartoon in that magazine's storied history to mention antibiotic resistance, usually not an especially robust wellspring for humor. Still, if it helps bring to light just a touch of the marital blame game, who can fault it? Not much changed between the preliminary version of this gag seen last year on eBay and the final published version, but the husband became less angry and more passive, making him a somewhat more sympathetic figure and rendering the mood more somber.

Eldon Dedini, "George, you must stop resisting the antibiotics."
Preliminary art,
The New Yorker, December 9, 1967, page 60


"Preliminary sketch for New Yorker cartoon"

Eldon Dedini's signature

Gift inscription dated a year after publication
"Nov 15 '68
San Francinsco
Eldon"







eBay Listing as of December 25, 2016



Eldon Dedini, "George, you must stop resisting the antibiotics."
Preliminary art,
The New Yorker, December 9, 1967, page 60


Eldon Dedini, "George, you must stop resisting the antibiotics."
The New Yorker,
December 9, 1967, page 60

Eldon Dedini, "George, you must stop resisting the antibiotics."
The New Yorker, 
December 9, 1967, page 60









This year the price has been reduced:



Note:  Resist!

I mean, listen to your spouse! Attempted Bloggery continues to seek scans or photographs of original cartoon art by Eldon Dedini and other New Yorker artists to help end the scourge of antibiotic resistance.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Eldon Dedini

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Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Gregory d'Alessio for Macy's

Twelve drawings created by cartoonist Gregory d'Alessio for a 1937 Macy's advertising campaign were sold on eBay in 2015 for $57. Each drawing illustrates a rhyming couplet which ends with "Macy's is open 'til nine tonight."

Twelve drawings by Gregory d'Alessio for the Macy's campaign

Play all day long if it's your delight,
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.

Play all day long if it's your delight,
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.



Don't leave your kitchen looking a sight,
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.

Time to find bargains if hubby is tight,
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.

If your ship comes in late, be calm, sit tight,
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.


Don't gulp your lunch, have more than a bite,
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.

Plenty of time to buy what's right,
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.


Forgotten Aunt Kate? Don't be contrite,
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.

No need to scramble, no need to fight,
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.

No need to fly with suspense at its height
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.

No need to fly with suspense at its height
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.
This one has lost its caption. I suggest: No need to dodge traffic, wait for the light, Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.
[?]
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.

Don't be impatient, rough, impolite,
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.
One of the twelve is missing from the eBay listing, but it was scanned by the new owner and posted on the Comic Art Fans page:
Tired after work? There's time for respite,
Macy's is open 'til nine tonight.

Gregory d'Alessio
eBay Listing Ended July 12, 2015

Gregory d'Alessio
eBay Item Description

Gregory d'Alessio
eBay Bid History
Three bids:  two early failed bids and one late successful bid. Isn't that the way of the world?


Now owner Rob Stolzer has rescanned these and posted the entire beautiful set on the Comic Art Fans page where they are for sale for $600 plus $25 shipping. Excluding shipping costs, that's a markup of 953%, but it isn't unreasonable.
Comic Art Fans Marketplace Listing as of September 16, 2017

Note:  "Macy's is open 'til nine tonight?" The advertising copy should read till and not 'til. No wonder there was a Depression.

The eBay seller dates these ads to 1937 while Rob Stolzer dates them to 1938. If anyone knows their true publication history, chime in. Also, one of the ads—that of the woman standing in the middle of traffic—is missing its original advertising copy and, while I am happy to offer my own suggestion above, I know we'd all prefer to see evidence of what the real caption was. Cartoon sleuths, get cracking!

A couple of weeks back I thought we were done with Gregory d'Alessio for the time being, but I was mistaken. Now we're done. Still, Attempted Bloggery continues to seek scans or photographs of original cartoon art by Mr. d'Alessio and other New Yorker artists, the famous and the obscure. Scans of cartoons and illustrations from College Humor, Collier's, Esquire, the Saturday Evening Post, and other publications will always be appreciated. Remember, I can blog all day, but I simply don't have any scanning skills.

Mr. d'Alessio's obituary in New York Times may be seen here.


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Gregory d'Alessio

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