Miguel Covarrubias: Negro Drawings, Copy No. 5/100

 The limited edition of Negro Drawings (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927) by Miguel Covarrubias consists of one hundred copies that were specially bound, numbered, and signed, with an original drawing laid in. Copy no. 5 was listed on AbeBooks on April 17. It has subsequently been sold, probably last month, by Capitol Hill Books of Washington, DC, for $3,500.

Miguel Covarrubias
Capitol Hill Books listing ended between April 17 and May 24, 2026

Note:  There are ninety-nine other drawings by Miguel Covarrubias in the limited edition of Negro Drawings and I'd be happy to post any that collectors would care to share. 

05279

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #994

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #994 from the issue of June 15, 2026, a harried man has just checked out from a grocery store, loaded down with an impossible amount of produce from his knees up to the ceiling. The cashier holds out his register receipt and speaks. My submission is shown below. The drawing is by Colin Tom. 

"Was that your gray Prius they just towed?"

These captions didn't check out:

"Would you like to check my work?"
"Were those your car keys in Aisle 4?"
"Our best customers like to use the wagons."

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Arthur Rackham: Aesop's Fables Limited Edition, No. 1103/1450

David Brass Rare Books, Inc., of Calabasas, California, offers a signed, limited edition of Arthur Rackham's exceptional Aesop's Fables (William Heinemann, 1912). 

The price is $3,250.

Title page

Signed limitation page, no. 1103 of 1450

I am most intrigued by the announcement of a 1912 exhibition of Rackham's original book illustrations at London's Leicester Galleries:

The North Wind and the Sun

The Oak and the Reeds

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks listing accessed May 24, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Aesops-Fables-RACKHAM-Arthur-illustrator-AESOP/32452382040/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=img

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks item description

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks store description

Note:  I was not able to attend the Arthur Rackham exhibition at Leicester Galleries in 1912 and neither were my great grandparents. Still, I might like to see the price list, from anyone who may have benefitted from art-loving great grandparents who were also pack rats.

Longtime readers may recall that I am also looking for a price list or catalogue from Peter Arno's 1932 exhibition at the Leicester Galleries.  

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #993

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #993 from the issue of June 8, 2026, three pigs are seated at a trough in a restaurant looking at the menus. The one on the left is speaking. My submission is shown below. The drawing is by Avi Steinberg. 

"Could you explain for my brothers the advantages of having a brick oven?"

These captions weren't quite good enough for me to serve up:

"Is the slop fresh?"
"I don't suppose the catch of the day is wolf?"
"It appears the house specialty is bacon."

05276

Ludwig Bemelmans: A Girl on Horseback

An original spot drawing of a girl sitting on horseback by Madeline author and artist Ludwig Bemelmans was published in The New Yorker in May of 1961. The art was framed in-house, apparently, and became part of the collection of writers Neil and Susan Sheehan. As a writer for the magazine, Susan Sheehan must have had access to a very nice selection of original art. This piece was sold on May 15 by Second Story Books.

Ludwig Bemelmans
Framed original spot drawing
The New Yorker, May 13,1961, p. 161

Ludwig Bemelmans's initials

Ludwig Bemelmans
eBay listing ended May 15, 2026

https://www.ebay.com/itm/406928826275?itmmeta=01KRWEX85XX6Z4AP9QZ4ATTCHM&hash=item5ebed91fa3:g:zkgAAeSw12VqBzuq

Ludwig Bemelmans
eBay item description

It looked great in print, yet readers could easily have missed it in the back of the magazine sandwiched between columns of advertising.

Ludwig Bemelmans
The New Yorker, May 13,1961, p. 161

Ludwig Bemelmans
Original spot drawing
The New Yorker, May 13,1961, p. 161

With a spot drawing by Ludwig Bemelmans

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1961-05-13/flipbook/160/

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William Steig: Marriage in the Balance

Another original New Yorker cartoon by William Steig, this one from 1969, was sold by Second Story Books on May 17. It had been collected by Neil and Susan Sheehan, she a writer for the magazine. One imagines they both appreciated the singular perspective on marriage the artist expressed in this drawing. 

William Steig
Original art
The New Yorker, November 22, 1969, p. 57

William Steig's signature

The price was $500. It was quickly sold.

William Steig
AbeBooks listing ended May 17, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/art-prints/ORIGINAL-1969-NEW-YORKER-CARTOON-Signed/32447225940/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=viewbook#&gid=undefined&pid=1

The drawing looked great in print.

William Steig
The New Yorker, November 22, 1969, p. 57

William Steig
Original art
The New Yorker, November 22, 1969, p. 57

With cartoons by Edward Koren and William Steig

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1969-11-22/flipbook/056/

* * *

The Motion Picture Association of America introduced its voluntary film rating system in November of 1968. The four original ratings were G (for general audiences), M (for mature audiences), R (restricted, persons under age 16 not admitted without a parent or guardian), and X (those under 16 not admitted). Edward Koren's cartoon, on the page opposite the Steig, provides the artist's take on the new ratings one year in.

"It looks like an ⓧ rating to me."

Edward Koren

The New Yorker, November 22, 1969, p. 56

05271

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #992

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #992 from the issue of June 1, 2026, two rats stand outside of a laboratory maze. The rat who is speaking opens a jewelry case to reveal an engagement ring. My submission is shown below. The drawing is by Benjamin Slyngstad, whose work is new to me.

"It's lab-grown."

This one was a little too twee:

"Let's try our own experiment."

June 13, 2016 Update:  The Finalists

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