Attempted Bloggery: June 2020

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Whitney Darrow, Jr.: Creative Block

Original art from the New Yorker by Whitney Darrow, Jr., was offered by Taraba Illustration Art in 2016. The listing read "Overindulged child bored on a rainy day. This is 13 x 11.25” and appeared in The New Yorker on August 26th, 1974... Darrow was so good at finding humor in the human condition. This one’s priced at only $1000 + $50 as share of domestic shipping… " Me, I love the way the mother offers her daughter so many creative options while the child just wants to go out and run around.

"Why don't you sing, weave, paint, sculpt, compose[,] or something?"
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, August 26, 1974, page 23

Spot drawing by Kenneth Mahood and cartoon by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1974-08-26/flipbook/022/

Note: Attempted Bloggery seeks other examples of original art by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Spot Drawing
Kenneth Mahood

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Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Original New Yorker Cartoon Art

Kenneth Mahood

Attempted Bloggery's Homebound Index

03305

Monday, June 29, 2020

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #715

Crack up over my entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #715 for June 29, 2020. The drawing is by Mort Gerberg.

"Just one. I can't afford any more great falls."

These captions weren't palatable:

"Do you have anything that can do what all the king's men couldn't?"
"For heaven's sake, no more pick-me-ups."
"Something to put me together again."

July 13, 2020 Update: The Finalists

July 20, 2020 Update: The finalists were each very good this week. I voted with Brooklyn.

July 27, 2020 Update: The Winner

Note: Last week in the Caption Contest, cartoonist P. C. Vey showed us a couple playing a game of beach ball in the pool with a cat. Play along with Contest #714.

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Mort Gerberg

Bars

Eggs

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

The Moment Magazine Cartoon Caption Contest

The Cartoon Collections Caption Contest

All the Above Cartoon Caption Contests and More

Attempted Bloggery's Scrambled Index

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Sunday, June 28, 2020

Whitney Darrow, Jr.: Down in the Valley

Jacqueline Susann's novel Valley of the Dolls created a sensation in 1966, eventually selling over 31 million copies. The movie followed in December of 1967, receiving poor reviews yet grossing over $50 million. It wasn't until 1968 that the New Yorker recognized the phenomenon with a cartoon, one by Whitney Darrow, Jr., fairly low-key compared with its source material. His original art is currently available through the Argosy Book Store.

"Well! The Valley of the Dolls!"
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, July 13, 1968, page 23

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Argosy Book Store Listing Accessed June 14, 2020

https://www.argosybooks.com/pages/books/225880/whitney-darrow-1909-1999/original-ink-wash-drawing

"Well! The Valley of the Dolls!"
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, July 13, 1968, page 23

Cartoons by J. B. Handelsman and Whitney Darrow, Jr.

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1968-07-13/flipbook/022/

"Valley of the Dolls" Trailer (1967)

Note: At the time of this posting, the original art remains available at Argosy.

Attempted Bloggery seeks other examples of original cartoon art by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

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Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Original New Yorker Cartoon Art

Attempted Bloggery's Drug-Free Index

Tomorrow's post: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls!

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Saturday, June 27, 2020

Whitney Darrow, Jr.: Marge and Bob's Copy of "Stop, Miss!"

A drawing of an astronaut striding purposely forward and carrying a sign to hang is printed in the front of the 1957 collection "Stop, Miss!" by Whitney Darrow, Jr. He typically would personalize copies of this collection by further embellishing this image, for example by adding a billboard naming the recipient.

Whitney Darrow, Jr.

"Stop, Miss!" (1957), page 1

Marge and Bob's personalized copy is unique. Although it is a first edition, Darrow dated the inscription in Wilton, Connecticut, September 10, 1973, some sixteen years after publication. Evidently Darrow created this in his home studio in Wilton.

Whitney Darrow, Jr.

"Stop, Miss!" (1957) with a watercolor drawing inscribed "For Marge + Bob with Love From —Whitney—>(+ Middy)(+ Toby)/Wilton Conn/Sept 10 —1973"

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Etsy Listing Accessed June 25, 2020

https://www.etsy.com/listing/492306108/stop-miss-by-whitney-darrow-jr-signed

Note: This is the third personalized copy of "Stop, Miss!" to appear on this blog. The copy belonging to Darrow's Random House editor Pat Read has a full page watercolor with the astronaut himself relegated to a billboard above a brick wall (which bears the inscription) in a city park with a boy and a girl. Cartoonist Roy Doty's copy, curiously, also dates from 1973.

Attempted Bloggery seeks other examples of books with original art by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Who were Marge and Bob?

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Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Original Drawings in Books

Attempted Bloggery's Edenic Index

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Friday, June 26, 2020

The Overprocessed Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Some yellowed original New Yorker art by Whitney Darrow, Jr., appeared on eBay five years ago. The eBay seller did not know the date it was published: June 18, 1960. A pair of women are shown at the Russian Tea Room taking a break from some shopping. One discusses the problem that afflicts her hair in rather specialized terms that she has picked up no doubt at her expensive salon.

"My hair has been overprocessed. I'm having it reconditioned this afternoon."
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, June 18, 1960, page 45

Detail

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
eBay Listing Ended June 12, 2015

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
eBay Item Description

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
eBay Bid History
One last-minute bid

[End of eBay Listing]

"My hair has been overprocessed. I'm having it reconditioned this afternoon."
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, June 18, 1960, page 45

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1960-06-18/flipbook/044/

Note: That is the Russian Tea Room, right?

Attempted Bloggery seeks other examples of original art by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

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Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Original New Yorker Cartoon Art

Attempted Bloggery's Index For Tea Time

03301

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Blog Post No. 3300: "Give Up?" by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

"Give Up?" is surely one of the signature New Yorker cartoons of Whitney Darrow, Jr. The gag with its perfect two-word caption was published in 1961 and served further as the title of Darrow's 1966 cartoon collection. The impressive 1961 original art, framed and matted, was offered on eBay in March with a Buy It Now price of $1,500 which it readily achieved.

"Give Up?"
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, November 18, 1961, page 59

Detail

Detail with signature and caption on matte

Signature of Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
eBay Listing Ended March 14, 2020

https://www.ebay.com/itm/WHITNEY-DARROW-JR-Original-Illustration-Art-1961-NEW-YORKER-MAGAZINE-Give-Up-/333526391215?hash=item4da7b8d9af%3Ag%3Aqf0AAOSwzQFeVLGL&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
eBay Item Description

[End of eBay Listing]

"Give Up?"
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, November 18, 1961, page 59

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1961-11-18/flipbook/058/

As the eBay seller duly notes, "Give Up?" became the title cartoon for Darrow's 1966 collection. The more linear original book cover art sold at Swann Galleries in 2017 with a hammer price of $1,800, or $2250 with the buyer's premium. It too is a beauty: