The Art of the Redraw: Leslie Starke, et al., From the Collection of Paul P. Goldberg

A group of ten postcards collected by Paul P. Goldberg and sold on eBay last month caught my notice because one of the ten cartoonists providing small sketches was Leslie Starke, whose work appeared in The New Yorker and Punch, among other publications. I mean no disrespect to the other nine cartoonists represented, but Starke's drawing was the only one of the lot which looked like a realized single panel cartoon. Could it be a redraw?

Starke's cartoon depicts a monk gazing into a lit fireplace and seeing demons. The central demon's face is unfortunately overprinted with a cancellation mark, a well-known potential hazard of mail art.

Starke's postcard has to be the one with UK postage added. Perhaps Goldberg mailed a self-addressed US postal card to some American publication in which he saw the cartoonist's work and the magazine forwarded it overseas.

Leslie Starke, et al.
eBay listing ended December 14, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/176086792220?hash=item28ff97381c:g:oAgAAOSwAGRlcnlp

Leslie Starke, et al.
eBay item description

Leslie Starke, et al.
eBay bid history
Ten bidders go after ten autograph drawings with fifteen bids. The one who places the last bid wins it all.

Starke's sketch, it turns out, is indeed a quick redraw of a cartoon that may well have been published, only one can't easily determine where or when. The original drawing was sold on eBay and the sale is archived behind a paywall on Worthpoint. I wonder if Goldberg knew of the other version.

Sketch for Paul Goldberg

Leslie Starke's signature

Some important information may or may not have been removed from the backing.

Leslie Starke
Worthpoint archived eBay listing accessed January 24, 2024

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/monk-leslie-starke-original-comic-art-1863242860

Note:  Perhaps someone familiar with Leslie Starke's prodigious output will recognize the monk drawing and let us know where, if anywhere, it was published. Punch perhaps? If you know, please quote chapter and verse. 

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