Syd Hoff in College Humor, April 1938

Four full-page cartoons by Syd Hoff appeared in the April 1938 College Humor. If there's a theme here, it has got to be uncomfortable social situations. The first gag presents a scenario few would wish to come home to.

"Something wrong?"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 4, April 1938, page 17

It's unusual to see Hoff completely omit the background in a College Humor cartoon. Perhaps this allows him to place more emphasis on his characters' personalities. Even against a blank backdrop, Hoff still manages to get in a variety of tones and interesting patterns.

"I'd like to marry your daughter—what the hell are you going to do about it?"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 4, April 1938, page 32

If it's uncomfortable to think about having surgery today, imagine what it must have been like in 1938.

"I guess I'm all right all of a sudden!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 4, April 1938, page 42

Now here's a novel negotiating tactic.

"My partner wants a raise or he won't go on!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 4, April 1938, page 47

Note:  The April 1938 issue of College Humor is just one of over 5,600 periodicals to be found in the Steven Boss humor magazine collection at Columbia University. The collection is located in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library within the Butler Library and is accessible by the general public. Contact Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green for details. I promise it will not be an uncomfortable social situation.

Careful readers may have surmised that cartoonist Syd Hoff is the current focus of Attempted Bloggery. I continue to seek scans or photos of original art by Syd Hoff art and of obscure published illustrations, gag cartoons, and other features. What the hell are you going to do about it?


External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author It so happens that scans of two of today's cartoons from College Humor appear on the Syd Hoff website here. There's also a shadow boxing cartoon probably from a 1936 issue of the magazine that I haven't been lucky enough to find myself.

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Syd Hoff in Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball

Syd Hoff's proposed cover designs for Danny and the Dinosaur

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

College Humor

Attempted Bloggery's Law-Abiding Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

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Syd Hoff in College Humor, February 1938

Three full-page gag cartoons by Syd Hoff were published in the February 1938 issue of College Humor. In the first, the butler Louis is caught with his pants down, and not just proverbially.

"I was rushing, madam!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 2, February 1938, page 17

This young woman surely knows she's worth the wait. Her beau would seem to agree. Syd Hoff provides some seasonal cartoon fare for College Humor.

"Did I keep you waiting?"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 2, February 1938, page 32

Finally, what could be more amusing to the college-age crowd than learning that romance is problematic not only for the young? Syd Hoff was a 25-year-old newlywed when this was published, not much older than his target audience.

"I wish someone would take her out so we could be alone!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 7, No. 2, February 1938, page 43

Note:  Can you guess who was the first blogger to look into the Steven Boss humor magazine collection, an incredible resource for the jocularly inclined? Come on, you should have no trouble with this one. The February 1938 issue of College Humor is just one of over 5,600 magazines to be found in this splendid collection located in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University. The Boss collection is open to the general public, even to serious people like me. Interested parties may access the collection by contacting Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green.

Cartoonist Syd Hoff is the man of the hour here at Attempted Bloggery. I continue to seek scans or photos of original Hoff art and of little-known published works. His freelance cartoon art, published hither and yon outside of The New Yorker before he settled into children's books, deserves to be better known.


External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Syd Hoff in Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball

Syd Hoff's proposed cover designs for Danny and the Dinosaur

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

Butlers

College Humor

Attempted Bloggery's Unthawed Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #602

Sink your teeth into my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #602 for January 29, 2018. The drawing is by Tom Cheney.

"No more running as fast as you can."

February 5, 2018 Update: The Finalists

February 19, 2018 Update:  I voted for the third caption, but I do appreciate the second.


February 26, 2018 Update: Winning Caption

Note:  Last week cartoonist Amy Hwang led us on a wild cactus chase. My caption proved prickly at best. Run, don't walk, to Contest #601.

Then check out my half-baked blog posts on Tom Cheney.

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Syd Hoff in College Humor, October 1937

For cartoonist Syd Hoff's two full-page cartoons in the October 1937 issue of College Humor, it's all about the delivery.

"Believe it or not, you're a father!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 2, October 1937, page 36

"You know who sent me!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 2, October 1937, page 41

It's striking how similar that first Hoff expectant-father-outside-the-maternity-ward cartoon—and even the one from the September 1937 issue— is to the most famous gag cartoon to use this setting, that by Charles Addams which appeared three years later in the pages of The New Yorker. Why did the Addams become a modern-day classic while the Hoff cartoon is forgotten?

Charles Addams
The New Yorker, November 9, 1940, page 21

Well, part of the credit goes to Addams, whose execution of this gag is pretty damn near perfect. It also benefits from simple yet finely-crafted caption which deviates from our expectation that it will end with the word "boy" or "girl." The Addams gag is less cartoony than the Hoff, which serves to ground it more firmly in reality, but then the father's odd misshapenness transports this scene to the realm of the bizarre. Hoff's gag is an affront to the father's masculinity, but the Addams gag questions the father's very humanity. The Addams gag also benefitted from its appearance in The New Yorker, a far more prominent platform than College Humor, and from its mistaken but persistent association with an apocryphal caption, "Don't bother to wrap it—I'll eat it here."

Note:  For folks keeping score at home, this is the 35th Attempted Bloggery post to be derived from the wonderful Steven Boss humor magazine collection. The October 1937 issue of College Humor is just one of some 5,600 magazines to be found in the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University. But don't just take my word for it. Students of humor may personally access the collection by contacting Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green.

It really doesn't matter where the scans or photographs of original art by Syd Hoff come from, just so long as we continue to make interesting finds here. So please send your interesting finds of long-forgotten Hoff gag cartoons, illustrations, and advertising art. 


External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Syd Hoff in Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball

Syd Hoff's proposed cover designs for Danny and the Dinosaur

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

Charles Addams

College Humor

Attempted Bloggery's Paternalistic Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

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Syd Hoff in College Humor, September 1937

The September 1937 issue of College Humor saw cartoonist Syd Hoff achieve  another five-bagger—that's a bowling term for five strikes in a row—or in this case five cartoons published between the covers, and all of them full-pagers at that. No other cartoonist appeared in College Humor with this frequency. Peter Arno was more popular but he was also more expensive, and he never had more than two pages, usually with three cartoons, in each issue. Hoff's cartoons seem to cover more acreage per issue than the other cartoonists.

It's easy to see why he was in such demand. His cartoons are bold, appealing, and broadly comic. His characters have personalities, and strong ones. His women are assertive; his men are out of their depth. So many of the lesser College Humor cartoonists seem like fashion illustrators uncertain how to make a drawing look amusing. Every Hoff cartoon jumps right out at the viewer and demands attention and at least a smile. 

What's going on in this first cartoon? The word masher has lost its punch these days and sexual harassment has been in way too many current headlines. But the boy and the police officer seem bewildered enough that we can take this cartoon to be primarily about the girl's no-nonsense attitude.

"I want to report a masher!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 1, September 1937, page 32

Another very strong woman is on the receiving end of a marriage proposal in the next cartoon. We can tell right away who's in charge here.

"Heads, it's 'yes'—tails, it's 'no'!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 1, September 1937, page 36

Here, once again, the daughter holds center stage and allows her mother to assert her independence from her husband.

"Cheese it—papa!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 1, September 1937, page 38

It isn't easy, but Hoff's expectant father manages to achieve nonentity status.

"Are you expecting somebody?"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 1, September 1937, page 43

Finally, it turns out Syd Hoff's recurring butler figure is named Louis. Here Louis maintains his composure while his wealthy employer completely abdicates his authority.

"Throw me out, Louis—I'm sick of this place!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 6, No. 1, September 1937, page 48

Note:  In bowling, three strikes in a row is known as a turkey. Four strikes is a four-bagger and five is a five-bagger. There's even a term—I forget what—for a strike when the 1 pin is the last to fall.

The September 1937 issue of College Humor is just one of some 5,600 magazines in the Steven Boss humor magazine collection. I haven't come close to going through one in a hundred of these. When I get the chance I'd love to return to the collection, which is housed in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University. In the meantime, all interested readers can access the collection by contacting Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green.

I'm convinced that this blog can never have enough scans or photographs of original art by Syd Hoff. Go ahead—try and prove me wrong. I'd also like to publish more rare Hoff gag cartoons, illustrations, and advertising. Hey, send me some turkeys.


External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Syd Hoff in Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball

Syd Hoff's proposed cover designs for Danny and the Dinosaur

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

College Humor

Attempted Bloggery's Manly Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

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Syd Hoff in College Humor, August 1937

In the August 1937 issue of College Humor, cartoonist Syd Hoff takes a look at intimate relationships in young and not-so-young couples. 

Battle of the Century
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 5, No. 4, August 1937, page 35

Scan by Dick Buchanan

"I thought I gave you a quarter for the movies!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol. 5, No. 4, August 1937, page 44

Scan by Dick Buchanan

Note:  I remain indebted to Dick Buchanan for providing us with these two gorgeous scans from College Humor. It's no secret that his work outshines any of my own clumsy photographs of the magazine presented here over the last few days. Dick maintains the legendary Dick Buchanan Cartoon Clip Files and he contributes regularly to Mike Lynch Cartoons, most recently a post entitled, "From the Dick Buchanan Files: William Steig Gag Cartoons 1946 - 1965." Dick's efforts have kept a great many classic cartoon gags in public  view.

Syd Hoff's work remains of great interest here at Attempted Bloggery. I am always eager to see readers' scans or photos of original art by the artist as well as rare published gag cartoons, illustrations, and advertisements.



External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Syd Hoff in Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball


Syd Hoff's proposed cover designs for Danny and the Dinosaur


Quick Links to the the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

Dick Buchanan

College Humor

Attempted Bloggery's In Flagrante Delicto Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

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Syd Hoff in College Humor, July 1937

In 1935, George Gallup began to conduct his door-to-door polling. By 1937, cartoonist Syd Hoff took note in College Humor that Americans were welcoming Gallup into their homes.

"But, darling, Mr. Gallup is our guest!"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol 5, No. 3, July 1937, page 29

Hoff liked this next cartoon enough to include it in his 1944 collection Feeling No Pain. Today we might even call it "empowering."

"My God! I just remembered—we have met before!"

Syd Hoff

College Humor, Vol 5, No. 3, July 1937, page 35

To wit:

Syd Hoff, Feeling No Pain, 1944, pages 54-55

Finally, Hoff's humor can get a little dark:

"Excuse me, please, but my wife is drowning."
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol 5, No. 3, July 1937, page 44

Note:  There are some 5,600 magazines in the Steven Boss humor magazine collection, and it can take quite a bit of time to go through it just three pages at a time as we have done here today. The July 1937 issue of College Humor along with the rest of this worthy collection is housed in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University and is available to the discerning public. To learn more, contact Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green. 

I am eager to see additional scans or photographs of original art by Syd Hoff as well as scarce published gag cartoons, illustrations, and advertising art. I know I'm not the only one who can use a library.


External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Syd Hoff in Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball


Syd Hoff's proposed cover designs for Danny and the Dinosaur

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

College Humor

Attempted Bloggery's Crowd-Pleasing Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

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Syd Hoff in College Humor, May 1937

Cartoonist Syd Hoff offers the College Humor reader of May 1937 questionable advice on How to Win Her, but also unexpected advice on How to Lose Her. Thus all bases are covered and the two contradictory objectives are published on facing pages. Try these out—at your own risk.

How to Win Her
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol 5, No. 1, May 1937, page 30

How to Lose Her
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol 5, No. 1, May 1937, page 31

Hoff's single-panel gag cartoon in the issue features his recurring butler character at his best.

"Have you an appointment?"
Syd Hoff
College Humor, Vol 5, No. 1, May 1937, page 41

Note:  Some 5,600 periodicals make up the Steven Boss humor magazine collection, including the May 1937 number of College Humor excerpted here. The collection is kept in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University and is available to the humor-loving public. To arrange a visit, contact Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green. Me, I plan to just send my butler.

These three pages of cartoon art by Syd Hoff have never been seen on the internet so far as I know, but now they will be reposted and shared and should remain available to all for the foreseeable future. Attempted Bloggery is eager to receive additional scans or photographs of original art by Hoff as well as rare published gag cartoons, illustrations, and advertisements. The whereabouts of Hoff's original Café Society mural are currently unknown, but if you've had the extraordinary luck to spot an oil on canvas featuring a man in a jazz club dancing in his pajamas, you could help to shed light on a great mystery.


External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery on Syd Hoff 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball


Syd Hoff's proposed cover designs for Danny and the Dinosaur

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

College Humor

Butlers

Attempted Bloggery's Well-Appointed Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

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