Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Sight Unseen: Virginia's Copy of The Art in Cartooning

Should one pay good money for a rare book, sight unseen? Well, it depends. If the book is a signed copy of The Art in Cartooning (1975) with six original drawings by the likes of Marvin Tannenberg, Gahan Wilson, George Booth, Bill Woodman, Sam Gross, and Paul Peter Porges, and if the price is not too unreasonable, I might take a chance on it. And indeed I did...

First off, here's the listing:
The Closed Mind
Charles Saxon

The Art in Cartooning:  Seventy-five Years of American Magazine Cartoons
The Cartoonists Guild, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1975

The Art in Cartooning
AbeBooks Listing Accessed July 9, 2020



Now let's see whether my gamble paid off. Four of the cartoonists drew animals, as Sam Gross has his frog point out, while two others drew self-portraits. Two of the animals are roasted pigs; Bill Woodman's may be echoing the drawing of Gahan Wilson, or perhaps vice versa. George Booth gives us his classic English Bull Terrier. Here's how they all look together on the endpapers:
Drawings by Marvin Tannenberg, Gahan Wilson, George Booth, Bill Woodman, and Sam Gross

Paul Peter Porges has the title page to himself:
Drawing by Paul Peter Porges inscribed "Hi, Virgin[i?]a"


Of note, in the AbeBooks sales listing, David Hallinan, Bookseller, of Columbus, MO, is a bit mystified by Sam Gross's drawing of "a frog atop some wheeled vehicle," but we know what this is, don't we? It's a reference, of course, to his most celebrated cartoon ever, the notorious frogs' legs cartoon published in 1970 in National Lampoon and reproduced on page 179 of The Art in Cartooning.
https://mikelynchcartoons.blogspot.com/2010/12/sam-gross-frog-legs-original-cartoon.html


Note:  This is now the third copy of The Art in Cartooning both signed and sketched upon by cartoonists to appear on this blog. (The other two copies of the book also had sketches by Dana Fradon, editor Mort Gerberg, and Jack Ziegler,
but not by Porges.) I would still like to hear from anyone with information about the March 1976 book signing at which it's possible this copy was signed as well. I'd also love to provide a showcase here for other uniquely signed and inscribed copies of this book, one of several landmark cartoon books published in 1975.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Sight Unseen

The Art in Cartooning

George Booth


Ed Fisher (editor)

(Dana Fradon)

Mort Gerberg (editor)

Sam Gross

Charles Saxon

Marvin Tannenberg

Gahan Wilson

Bill Woodman 

(Jack Ziegler)

Signed Books with Original Drawings

Attempted Bloggery's Index with Legs

03347

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