Charles Addams: Walking the Dog

Not every cartoon by Charles Addams was first published in The New Yorker. Between perhaps 1955 and 1957, he published a weekly panel cartoon called Out of This World with the McClure Syndicate. An original from this feature came up for auction on Wednesday.

Charles Addams Original art Out of This World, October 23, 1955, McClure Syndicate

It is reasonable to assume that gags for Out of This World were culled from that group of his submissions to The New Yorker that were rejected by the magazine.

Detail of man walking his dog

What might The New Yorker have found objectionable?

Detail of woman walking her pet

Whatever The New Yorker's opinion, Addams liked this one enough to include it in his 1957 collection Nightcrawlers.

Charles Addams Original art Out of This World, October 23, 1955, McClure Syndicate

Wednesday's auction house listing gave this lot a presale estimate of $2,000 to $3,000. On the morning of the auction, the bidding was still at the opening bid of $1,000. The two bids, later three, had to be proxies placed by the same bidder.

Charles Addams Millea Bros., Ltd., listing accessed November 16, 2022 https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/charles-addams-original-cartoon-drawing-1955-1297-c-e7d4c028c1?objectID=174950370&algIndex=upcoming_lots_prod&queryID=5d76f5591f3bb5cb48cec94c33a00432

Sold!

Note:  For more on the weekly syndicated panel strip Out of This World by Charles Addams, check out this Ink Spill post from last year.

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