Otto Soglow: A British-American Trade Agreement

An original seven-panel cartoon by Otto Soglow was sold on eBay in May. Trade agreements seldom provide much grist for the humor mill, although for all we know today's headlines might prove an exception. During World War II, it seems, Soglow presented us with the signing of a British-American trade agreement, though which one is not specified. His gag requires the knowledge that B.A.W.T.H. was the British Air War Training Headquarters, a piece of history difficult to verify today even with the guiding hand of Google. Could this obscure acronym have been common knowledge eighty years ago? Whatever the case, the eBay seller's earnest explication of this cartoon is quite plausible although his assertion that it was published in The New Yorker in 1944 is not.

Otto Soglow
eBay listing ended May 14, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/177012260137?_skw=signed+Yorker&itmmeta=01JYQG3M8GW96MJG3KA03D2EZT&hash=item2936c0bd29:g:gNcAAOSwl8pn~CC2&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1dacfyyeeR7QgIau3bXrixl1mxRRTybaTtv2HTUuzglCy4hB%2BPYy4oIrXbC7h1b8xqHyt4Pl2hH4D

VKj7vhypDsnwG2Ypd7B%2FHUMm8uG5ggKSYQE%2FozpKaUbkXCkQ9QmgnoR%2FbzTZWrC1VknrbphSioR6MGvMwkpcqlNM9wxpzcQkp83LgOC%2BAjOQ8CSi0WaOw6Vo6Jnk%2Bfj3bF36XCSSApQoTTNuwUQjsscG8VCgjdd0Y1OvUh0hvV8SiIgokvwO8%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7jEjvD1ZQ

The seller's interpretation of the Soglow cartoon is as good as one could hope for. But it is preceded by "Original Art drawn for an article in The New Yorker magazine for a story relating to WWII." That's not how it worked. This wasn't a story illustration but a stand-alone cartoon with very likely no relation to whatever text it appeared next to in whatever magazine it may have been. There is also a very specific seller note: "Original Artwork for New Yorker Magazine used once for printing then retained by the artist." Anything's possible.

Otto Soglow
eBay item description

Note:  At any rate, this drawing by the prolific Otto Soglow almost certainly was published somewhere. Anyone in the know should get in touch so we can set the record straight.

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