How Al Hirschfeld Sent His Artwork to the Times

Al Hirschfeld drew big and he sent his big theater caricatures to the New York Times in big envelopes. He addressed such envelopes to Arts & Leisure art director Andrea Stevens on the third floor of the Times building. He affixed a return address label and added a stylized self-portrait.

Illustrator Stephen Kroninger, who himself did work for the Times, has one such envelope framed on his wall and he provided the photographs seen here. He writes:

I didn't work with her [Stevens]. The AD I did work with wanted a piece of mine so I traded it to her for the Hirschfeld envelope. Actually had to get the first replaced. It was in my studio and the assistant I had cut it up to mail artwork to someone. The AD was nice and gave me the one you see here to replace it.

Note:  My thanks to Stephen Kroninger for sharing so much of his collection with us. This is his fortieth contribution to this blog, not that I'm counting.

Al Hirschfeld's birthday is coming up on Monday. His dates are June 21, 1903 to January 20, 2003.

03661

Newton Brand, Jr.,'s Copy of Prince and Mrs. Charming by Warren Miller

Our friend David from Manhattan writes about his copy of a 1970 book personalized by New Yorker cartoonist Warren Miller with a very nice drawing and an inscription on the front free endpaper. The title cartoon is based on one originally published in The New Yorker of April 13, 1968. David writes:

Prince and Mrs. Charming has remained my favorite book title for a cartoon collection, so it was a happy surprise to see this on eBay. Newton Brand, Jr., a Texas banker who died in 2011, must have had some persuasive powers to get Mr. Miller to draw this, then mail it back with an apology for taking so long. The price of $30.45 incl. tax and shipping didn't hurt of course.

I assumed that Miller is like most cartoonists—happy to oblige with a drawing and/or a signature, but no. A search of the BookFinder website yielded not a single signed book by him. Curious. I guess that Texan really was persuasive. 

Agreed. I would only add that a search through the archives of Attempted Bloggery finds Miller's signature only in two copies of The New Yorker Album of Drawings 1925-1975, each signed by a total of five cartoonists. Could that have been the only book signing he attended?

Scan by David from Manhattan

Scan by David from Manhattan

Scan by David from Manhattan

The New Yorker, April 13, 1968

Scan by David from Manhattan

The eBay listing has similar images:

Warren Miller
eBay listing ended August 14, 2020

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Warren-Miller-1st-Edition-Signed-Hardbound-Book-with-Sketch-amp-Letter-/143637576805?hash=item2171777c65%3Ag%3AIZUAAOSw%7Eppec5DF&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Warren Miller
eBay item description

[End of eBay listing]

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1968-04-13/flipbook/172/

Note:  Thanks to David from Manhattan for today's contribution, his 40th. I knew him back when.

As they're apparently so uncommon, Attempted Bloggery seeks images of other books signed by Warren Miller. And if there should happen to be an interesting story behind the book, or a drawing in the book, let me know that too.

Quick Linkds to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Warren Miller 

Signed Books with Original Drawings

David from Manhattan

Attempted Bloggery's Unheralded Index

03392

Perry Barlow: Sizing Up the New Year

It is New Year's Eve eighty years ago in the pages of Collier's. Perry Barlow's older couple has not quite gotten into the spirit of the festivities. Note how deftly Barlow sets the scene and contrasts the impassive couple in the foreground with the energetic partygoers everywhere else.

"Now, let's see, I take about a seven and three eighths[.]"
Perry Barlow
Collier's, January 7, 1939, page 43

Scan by Dick Buchanan

Note:  Hats off to Dick Buchanan for sending along this scan of a festive Perry Barlow cartoon. This is Dick's fortieth contribution to Attempted Bloggery, but then I have been known to undercount. Dick's claim to fame is that he keeps the monumental Dick Buchanan Cartoon Clip Files. From these he contributes regularly to Mike Lynch Cartoons, most recently a post entitled "From the Dick Buchanan Files: More Vintage Gag Cartoons 1947 - 1962." Go visit. You won't find these anywhere else. Yes, you can wear your party hat.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Perry Barlow

Dick Buchanan

Parties

Collier's

Happy New Year!

Attempted Bloggery's Heady Index

02784

Peter Arno's Negligee Negligence

Reader and contributor David from Manhattan writes about a 1932 Peter Arno original sold on eBay last spring. It has a fascinating provenance and some related caption variants, prompting him to offer up some research too.

Peter Arno, "Do I know anything about this, Parsons"
Original art, The New Yorker, July 23, 1932, page 10

Photos courtesy of David from Manhattan

"Do I know anything about this, Parsons?" was published in the July 23, 1932 New Yorker. Dimensions are 15 x 12. According to the Long Island seller, the art was a gift from Arno to John Hay Whitney. Parsons was changed to Edgar to amuse Mr. Whitney. The real Edgar was Edgar Woodham, his "pilot-valet." At least that's the story via the seller's grandfather, who was employed by the Whitney family. He came acrosss it in the 1960s, while helping to clean out Greentree, the Whitney estate in Manhasset. I've included an article I found on-line that mentions Woodham ("Local Pilot Makes Forced Landing," etc.). His injuries were pretty serious, though I could not determine if this ended his career. It sounds morbid, but I like that Fred Opper's obituary is in an adjoining column, not to mention Andrew Mellon's headline.

The Kingston Daily Freeman, August 27, 1937

Edgar Woodham hurt in plane crash, right.
Frederick Opper obituary, left.
The Kingston Daily Freeman, August 27, 1937

Before he sent it off to the framer's, Arno made a change in caption, as can be seen on the back. I don't know who's hand that's in. The original mat, which had damp stains, repeated the new caption; condition made it impossible to use, and Arno's use of an exclamation point rubbed me the wrong way, so I printed up a new version, as can be seen in an iPhone shot. The change is entirely this owner's responsibility. While the magazine preferred a question mark, Arno's exclamation point feels dated and wrong. Any future owner is free to go back to the magazine's caption.

Amended caption:  Arno's Parsons becomes Edgar

New caption:  "Edgar! Do I know anything about this?"

Why Arno never reprinted this, I have no idea, even though a number of New Yorker cartoons from this period suffered the same fate. I realize a lot of the early stuff just hasn't held up too well, but the Edgar/Parsons drawing still feels fresh. Oh well.

Is this a likeness of Edgar Woodham?

Photos courtesy of David from Manhattan

Thank you, David! Now here's last summer's eBay sale which shows the damp staining to the mat:

Peter Arno, "Edgar! Do I know anything about this!"
Original art, The New Yorker, July 23, 1932, page 10

Peter Arno, "Edgar! Do I know anything about this!"
Original art, The New Yorker, July 23, 1932, page 10

Arno caption variant: "Edgar! Do I know anything about this!"
Water damage is evident on the mat.

Verso. Arno's original caption was apparently "Parsons! Do I know anything about this!"

eBay Listing Ended June 14, 2015

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Cartoon-Drawing-by-Famed-New-Yorker-Cartoonist-Peter-Arno-1900-1949-/141686761023?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20fd30663f&nma=true&si=Zv4PhLp6HocGRC23iqci2JeQ2LI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

eBay Item Description

eBay Bid History
The auction goes to the bold. The bidder placing multiple bids with small increments loses.

[End of eBay Listing]

Peter Arno, "Do I know anything about this, Parsons?"
The New Yorker, July 23, 1932, page 10

Peter Arno, "Edgar! Do I know anything about this!"
Original art, The New Yorker, July 23, 1932, page 10

Note:  Thanks once again to David from Manhattan for helping to make this blog—not to mention this world—a better place.

Anyone possessing a likeness of pilot-valet Edgar Woodham should come forward now.

Got some of your own original New Yorker cartoon art to show off? Why not join David and share it here? Got an idle pilot-valet on your hands? Why not offer his services to a congenial blogger?

Sure, Hemingway and Fitzgerald they've got covered, but do you realize not a single university offers a graduate degree in Arno Studies? The good news is you can still do some rigorous independent study and I can get you started. Follow these links to obtain the higher education you deserve:

Peter Arno's new biography by Michael Maslin is for sale at Amazon.com and, pretty soon, everywhere.

Peter Arno is the subject of a conversation coming to the Butler Library at Columbia University on April 18. It's doesn't count as credit towards a PhD, but what do you want for free?

Peter Arno posts appear on Ink Spill, which happens to be the blog of Arno's biographer. Small world.

Peter Arno is also featured in Chris Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery.

Peter Arno is in the April Vanity Fair.

Peter Arno is in a recent Wall Street Journal article.

Peter Arno posts are right here on Attempted Bloggery too. The things I do for you!

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