Friday, August 31, 2018

Seth: Wimbledon Green Signed in 2011 with a Sketch

Seth's 2005 book Wimbledon Green is subtitled The Greatest Comic Book Collector in the World. One doesn't have to be be a world-class comics collector to appreciate the book, but certainly an obsessively acquisitive habit of some degree couldn't hurt. Perhaps one of the finest personalized copies of this book out there was sold earlier this year on eBay:

Seth
Wimbledon Green:  The Greatest Comic Book Collector in the World
Montreal:  Drawn and Quarterly, 2005

Signed and inscribed "for Chris/Seth/2011"
with a figure-length drawing of Wimbledon Green



Seth
eBay Listing Retrieved May 9, 2018

Seth
eBay Item Description




Three related eBay listings show Seth's book covers rather than the unique sketches. That simply can't be a good business practice.



Note:  Is it possible for this blog to have too many original drawings by Seth? Send me scans or photographs of what you have and we'll find out.


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Seth


Signed Books with Sketches


Labor Day

Attempted Bloggery's Collectible Index

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Thursday, August 30, 2018

Catch That Motor Oil!

Remember those glorious days before truth in advertising? Well, hold tight! An undated French promotional postcard on eBay is remarkable for its unrestrained element of automotive fantasy. The text translates, "A car that uses Essor...the motor oil that lubricates best." I don't see why that woman waiting at the train crossing should desire a potentially dangerous air drop of motor oil, but what do I know? The artist, Léon Pousthomis, was to die in 1916 at the Battle of Verdun, age 35.

Léon Pousthomis
Une auto qui a pris de l'"Essor"
L'Huile d'auto qui graisse le mieux


Léon Pousthomis
eBay Listing Retrieved February 11, 2018



Léon Pousthomis
eBay Item Description


Léon Pousthomis
Une auto qui a pris de l'"Essor"
L'Huile d'auto qui graisse le mieux




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Advertising


Postcards


Cars

Attempted Bloggery's Postage Due Index

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Tuesday, August 28, 2018

My Entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for July/August 2018

Here are my entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for July/August 2018. This contest allows multiple entries—who can resist that?—and offers a chance to try one's hand at some Jewish humor. The drawing is by Benjamin Schwartz.

"Welcome to the Shul of Rock."
"You know we're forbidden to ham it up."
"What psalm is it you wanna hear?"
"Today I am eliminating the Cantor's Discretionary Fund."
"I'm not used to hearing feedback during my sermon."



September 17, 2018 Update:  The Finalists



October 22, 2018 Update: I voted for the second caption.


November 10, 2018 Update:
  Winning Caption



Glossary of Jewish Humor:  A shul is a Yiddish word for a synagogue, from the German shule or school. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year.


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Benjamin Schwartz


All My Caption Contests


Attempted Bloggery's Rockin' Index


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Monday, August 27, 2018

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #628

Take a long, cold draught of my entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #628 for August 27, 2018. The drawing is by Pia Guerra.


"Sex on the Beach, and no wisecracks."



These captions came up empty:
"Make it Ocean Spray."
"I suppose you think it's funny to serve me Goldfish crackers."
"If I wanted bottled water, I'd ask for it."
"There's nothing funny about a Mickey Finn."
"I never pay for water."



September 3, 2018 Update:  The Finalists



September 10, 2018 Update: I voted for the first caption.


September 17, 2018 Update: Winning Caption



Note:  Last week cartoonist P.C. Vey went way out on a limb—or was it a ledge? My caption wasn't grounded. See Contest #627 and find out what happens when you say you don't care where they seat you.

Let's all toast Pia Guerra in the blog archives.


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Sunday, August 26, 2018

Back to Schule

It's that time of year again. At the blackboard, Oskar Schlemmer's slender, young schoolteacher demonstrates the x-, y-, and z-axes as she stands before rows of abstract student's heads.
Oskar Schlemmer
Schule, 1928





Oskar Schlemmer
Schule, 1928



Note: Attempted Bloggery supports higher education. After seven years, this blog still looks forward to the day when its contents will be cited in college syllabi and textbooks, Heck, I'd be happy to be referenced just once on Wikipedia!


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:


College


Gaudeamus Igitur


Attempted Bloggery's Oxbridgian Index


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Saturday, August 25, 2018

John Held, Jr.: So This is College

John Held, Jr., created lively illustrations for MGM's 1929 musical "So This is College." His work, extremely popular in the 1920s, appeared on lobby cards, movie posters, and sheet music promoting the movie. Doesn't college look like the bee's knees!


John Held, Jr.
"So This is College"
Lobby Card, MGM, 1929


https://movieposters.ha.com/itm/movie-posters/musical/so-this-is-college-mgm-1929-title-lobby-card-11-x-14-john-held-jr-artwork/a/7167-86947.s?ic3=ViewItem-Auction-Archive-BrowseWantlistMatches-080917#


More lobby cards from the movie contain a border detail of Held's poster art:
http://www.jazzage1920s.com/cliffedwards/movies/moviememorabilia2.php

http://www.jazzage1920s.com/cliffedwards/movies/moviememorabilia.php

The movie posters:


John Held, Jr.
"So This is College"
Poster, MGM, 1929



Held drew at least two quartets for posters and sheet music.
John Held, Jr.
"So This is College"
Local Movie Poster, MGM, 1929
1st Dibs
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/posters/so-this-college-original-us-movie-poster/id-f_9170341/

John Held, Jr.
"So This is College"
Sheet Music to "I Don't Want Your Kisses"
Music by Martin Broones
Lyrics by Fred Fisher
MGM, 1929

The Jumping Frog



In one scene from the movie, Stella Star sings and dances the original song "Campus Capers." Cliff Edwards accompanies her and demonstrates why he was known as "Ukulele Ike" in vaudeville. He was later to be the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney's "Pinocchio," singing the classic "When You Wish Upon a Star."
"Campus Capers"
Music by Martin Broones
Lyrics by Charlotte Greenwood
Performed by Sally Starr and Cliff Edwards (a.k.a. "Ukulele Ike")
"So This is College" (MGM, 1929)



John Held, Jr.
"So This is College"
Lobby Card, MGM, 1929


Note: As should be clear, Attempted Bloggery applauds higher education.


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John Held, Jr.


College


Gaudeamus Igitur


Attempted Bloggery's Ivy-Covered Index


02658

Friday, August 24, 2018

Gaston Lachaise: Two Nudes

Two Nudes by Gaston Lachaise:  because you can never have enough nudes.

Gaston Lachaise
Two Nudes, c. 1930

Gaston Lachaise
Christie's



Note:
  Attempted Bloggery has been clothing-optional all week. After Labor Day, we'll go back to the usual dinner jackets and all.


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Drawings


Nudes


Attempted Bloggery's Double-Barreled Index


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Thursday, August 23, 2018

Heinrich Kley: How to Feed Your Dragon

There is a long tradition in fantasy art of pairing female nudes with dragons and other mythical beasts. Alternatively, Heinrich Kley chooses to pair his dragon with a corpulent nude man, but when it comes to feeding time, that shouldn't impose any particular impediments.

Heinrich Kley
Der Futterkorb [The Feedbasket]

Heinrich Kley
Der Futterkorb [The Feedbasket]
Retrieved August 5, 2013.
The price has since been reduced to $3,800.



Note:
  Our clothing-optional days here at Attempted Bloggery are drawing to a close. 


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Heinrich Kley


Dragons


Nudes


Attempted Bloggery's Butt Naked Index


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Wednesday, August 22, 2018

A Josef Achmann Bather

A woodcut by German expressionist Josef Achmann depicts a nude bather standing in a brook or river. The technique is bold and the composition is visually-interesting throughout. The Nazis considered modernist art to be degenerate and they did not permit the public exhibition of Achmann's work once they consolidated power in 1935. Achmann's work was not included in the Nazi's exhibition of Degenerate Art in 1937.







Josef Achmann
eBay Listing Ended August 18, 2017

Josef Achmann
eBay Item Description



Note:  The dress code here at Attempted Bloggery has been relaxed and is now strictly clothing-optional. Wear as much or as little as you please when reading the blog, while always maintaining the proper blog decorum, of course.


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Bathers


Woodcuts


Nudes


Attempted Bloggery's Butt Naked Index


02655