On Amazon, a seller has taken a number of issues of Esquire from 1935 and carefully removed full-page cartoons, of which there are many, selling them as individual cartoon "prints." We have already seen that some issues of the magazine had as many as four full page black and white cartoons by African-American cartoonist E. Simms Campbell and now we find the same for the color cartoons. His specialty was drawing attractive women, often in little or no clothing, but his range is surprisingly broad. Here are the 1935 color cartoons offered for sale on Amazon.
In April, we see a young couple for whom things already are not going well:
 |
| "Damn! Can't you even cook?" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, April 1935, page 43 |
Campbell's "Harem Girls" were a popular recurring feature in Esquire. Here a bravura illustration entices us with...the merchandise.
 |
"Sorry, buddy—you'll have to deliver them at the trade entrance[.]"
E. Simms Campbell
Esquire, April 1935
|
The information on the above issue date comes not from Amazon but from the Comic Art Fans site, which has the original art:
 |
| "Sorry, buddy—you'll have to deliver them at the trade entrance[.]" E. Simms Campbell Original art Esquire, April 1935 The Illustrator in America, page 212 Ex-collection Walter Reed |
A Pacific island cartoon has one of Campbell's better captions. The original artwork to this gag was sold at Illustration House on November 4, 2000. The date of the issue comes from there.
 |
| "You'd think the damn fools never saw baskets before[.]" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, May 1935, page 78 |
As already demonstrated, the "Harem Girls" series gave rise to some disturbing scenarios of how the women were regarded by the sultan as property. Was this ever funny?
Campbell's artwork gets the spelling of tattooing right, but the caption drops a t. What's fascinating, though, is how an African-American cartoonist treated racial humor in a magazine aimed predominantly at white men. One wonders to what extent Campbell created his own gags and whether gag writers were involved.
Most juries don't want to be sequestered.
Not jailbait:
Cartoons about sexual assault are alarmingly common in men's magazines of this time period. Some cartoons, like this one, require the reader to figure out the line that precedes the caption.
Gags about drinking to excess, even on the job, were also commonplace.
The following cartoons are from 1935, but for now they lack an issue date.
Showtime:
Smart kids, those Esquire readers.
The sultan needs some me time.
The Esquire cartoons in the latter part of this post have years and page numbers, but alas no month. Please help me out if you can. I am, after all, a stickler for these things.
Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.
 |
| If found, please return to Abdul Ullah E. Simms Campbell Esquire, June 1935, page 41 |
Oh, come on. You know what he means...
 |
| "It's nothing—just the usual reaction[.]" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, August 1935, page 173 |
Campbell's artwork gets the spelling of tattooing right, but the caption drops a t. What's fascinating, though, is how an African-American cartoonist treated racial humor in a magazine aimed predominantly at white men. One wonders to what extent Campbell created his own gags and whether gag writers were involved.
 |
| "—of course there's an extra charge for tat[t]ooing in reverse[.]" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, September 1935, page 41 |
Most juries don't want to be sequestered.
 |
| "Are you going to lock us up for the night, Your Honor?" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, September 1935, page 53 |
Not jailbait:
 |
| "That's just what I'm afraid of—that you are old enough[.]" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, September 1935, page 71 |
Cartoons about sexual assault are alarmingly common in men's magazines of this time period. Some cartoons, like this one, require the reader to figure out the line that precedes the caption.
 |
| "—but lady—I ain't got no sister[.]" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, September 1935, page 93 |
Gags about drinking to excess, even on the job, were also commonplace.
 |
| "Whom do you call in a case like this?" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, October 1935, page 65 |
The following cartoons are from 1935, but for now they lack an issue date.
Showtime:
 |
| "I don't see any parade[.]" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, 1935 |
 |
| "They said they were developing some film[.]" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, 1935 |
The sultan needs some me time.
 |
| "Thank God for onions!" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, 1935, page 30 |
How about that? Unfortunate dialect features prominently in this one.
 |
| "What a coincidence—so youse from the south too?" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, 1935, page 34 |
What exactly has Mr. Jacobs been up to? We close with some revivifying humor...
 |
| "Tell me about Mr. Jacobs in the morning—you'll find smelling salts and iodine on the table[.]" E. Simms Campbell Esquire, 1935, page 34 |
Note: At post time, all of these cartoons are available for purchase on Amazon. Simply follow the aqua link below each image.
Youse know what? Attempted Bloggery has been looking at the work of cartoonist E. Simms Campbell (1906-1971) for a good few weeks now. Interested readers can help carry on this worthy endeavor by submitting high-resolution scans or photographs of original Campbell art or of obscure published works like these. I would be happy to add to this post additional color Campbell cartoons from Esquire issues dated 1935.
Youse know what? Attempted Bloggery has been looking at the work of cartoonist E. Simms Campbell (1906-1971) for a good few weeks now. Interested readers can help carry on this worthy endeavor by submitting high-resolution scans or photographs of original Campbell art or of obscure published works like these. I would be happy to add to this post additional color Campbell cartoons from Esquire issues dated 1935.
External Links:
Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives
Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.
02500
No comments:
Post a Comment