"Dogs are now saying 'scarf' when they bark." That advertising copy seems cringeworthy today, but the design of the scarf itself, which includes a James Thurber dog sitting and watching the leaves fall, has kept its charm. The scarf is designed by Richard A. Farrar based on Thurber dog drawings. Farrar, we know, also designed scarves with art by New Yorker regulars Charles Addams, Helen E. Hokinson, Anatol Kovarsky, Mischa Richter, and Otto Soglow. The Thurber dogs silk scarves illustrated in the ad were available in five colors—red, white, black, green, and yellow—and in two sizes, 18" (for $3.00) and 33" (for $7.95). In today's dollars, that's about $29 and $77.
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| Richard A. Farrar advertisement The New Yorker, October 31, 1953, page 72 |
This, then, would be the fourth Thurber scarf design we know of—let's call it "Dogs with Falling Leaves"—and the second which can be confirmed as a Richard A. Farrar scarf. To review, here are the other three, along with my own unimaginative names for them:
1. "Dogs on the Lawn," Richard A. Farrar
2. "Dogs and Clover," designer unknown
3. "Dogs in the Garden," designer unknown
Note: Clearly, what the world needs now—besides love, sweet love—is to see more James Thurber scarves. We have no examples as yet of the "Dogs with Falling Leaves" scarf, let alone of the five colors and two sizes in which it was produced. Of the three scarf designs we have already seen, presumedly there are additional variants as well. One can hope that some scarf will soon be found to bear evidence of its brand, perhaps a tag or original box, identifying the maker of the "Dogs and Clover" as well as the "Dogs in the Garden" scarf.
As yet we have no examples to show of the Farrar Helen E. Hokinson scarf. Where are they?
Additional color schemes for the scarves by Charles Addams, Anatol Kovarsky, Mischa Richter, and Otto Soglow would also be helpful. Please check the blog archives for what is already on file. There might even be other scarf designs, perhaps by other New Yorker artists, that we don't yet know of.
The above advertisement is the first we've encountered for a Richard A. Farrar scarf design based on the work of a New Yorker cartoonist. That means there could very well be other such ads out there. If you find one, please send a copy this way.
Sherlock Holmes had his Baker Street Irregulars. I have you. Gang, let's start looking.
And, while you're at it, if you can also find love, sweet love, that's not bad either.
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