George Booth: Into the Dictionary

New Yorker cartoonist George Booth, who passed away this week on November 1, spoke at the Society of Illustrators five years ago in conversation with animator J. J. Sedelmaier, who curated the concurrent exhibition "George Booth: A Cartoonist's Life." One of the things Booth said was that he liked to go to the dictionary, of all places, for cartoon ideas. That was interesting but, to me, it seemed to be an oversimplification of the sort of advanced wordplay the author of "Ip Gissa Gul" [The New Yorker, January 20, 1975, p. 32] actually engaged in.

Sarah Booth, George Booth, and J. J. Sedelmaier in conversation at the Society of Illustrators, November 8, 2017

My photograph, edited for brightness by J. J. Sedelmaier

A recent eBay listing, though, may shed some light on his process. A sketch Booth included in a note to one John may be a true example of the dictionary approach he described. The line, "One feels better after the morning enharmonic," indeed sounds as if it might have been derived from browsing a dictionary, and it prompted me to look up the unfamiliar word's definition. Enharmonic, then, is defined as relating to notes with the same pitch but different notations, such as C sharp and D flat. It is always an adjective, never a noun, except in the skilled hands of George Booth, whom I suspect was influenced by the word's sound rather than its dictionary definition.

George Booth
eBay listing accessed September 18, 2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/385059624553?hash=item59a7579669:g:ezgAAOSwMkli9qKx&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoAYV76KZ3YuY949KduhYfUbQos8NbKYVCta9piScgZGc0Os1ZIgtvlwXc%2BjQUkuisj9fL%2FEPdxeUNt9C5j7H4enCVZyeDuuz7ff6%2Bpq%2BR7uMJfpzrNj8KPGJR48YqJ0v2hJ0H8ehXRv5g6hgEO1A8dAUDe0AMfUIUZ4gOjpcIdQBLqxXhm%2BphRU%2BerVioVD8mexHlk38U67J4TlFR0PuCyI%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4j3z-PpYA

George Booth
eBay item description

Note:  Got an illustrated letter from the late George Booth that's crying out to be posted online? This could be your blog. What about a Booth drawing that looks as if it may have stepped off the pages of the dictionary? Again, this blog could be at your service.

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