Sunday, December 4, 2022

Charles Addams: The Weather Winky Brand

Yesterday, an original advertising design by New Yorker cartoonist Charles Addams went up on the auction block down in Lake Worth Beach, Florida. The product is children's clothing manufactured under the name Weather Winky. 



The drawing, in my view, exaggerates the cruelty of childhood and is hardly the wholesome stuff of children's wear advertising. It lacks the disarming humor that redeems so many of Addams's darker themes.

Charles Addams's signature

Information handwritten on the back of the framed piece apparently dates the Weather Winky outerwear shown in the photograph to the years 1948-1952.

The notes further indicate that Weather Winky snowsuits were designed by Nathan Supak and produced by Supak & Sons Manufacturing Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.


The drawing looks better without the octagonal matte, which obscures some of the borders of the art. Replacing the matte would be a good idea for the new owner.

Charles Addams
Palm Beach Modern Auctions accessed November 20, 2022
The presale estimate was $3,000 to $5,000 with a starting bid of $2,400.

It sold within the estimated range:

Buyer's premium
Image added April 16, 2023




April 16, 2023 Update:  The artwork is offered for sale once again. The new asking price of $18,000 represents a markup of 231% over the Palm Beach Modern Auctions price of $5,440 inclusive of the 28% buyer's premium. That awful octagonal matte has been removed, at least for the new listing's photographs.
Charles Addams
Incollect listing accessed April 16, 2023

"Great cartoons do not need a caption."







Charles Addams's signature












Note:  My thanks go to Linda H. Davis, Joel Jacobus, and Michael Maslin for lending me their collective expertise on this obscure Addams illustration. None of us are familiar with any advertisement or promotion in which this artwork may have been used. I am curious whether someone in my community of readers can come up with the original print ad. Of course, it's always possible that the artwork was considered inappropriate and never published.






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