Lászlo Roth: Still More Esquire Cartoons

The third and final installment of Lászlo Roth's 1950s color cartoons from Esquire once again shows the artist mixing his media and playing with collage. Roth's approach is fairly uncommon and may have been an attempt to define a distinctive visual style for himself. Once again, Jeff Nelson has provided the images.

"Darling, may I drag you home?"
Lászlo Roth
Esquire, September 1955, page 89

Image courtesy of Jeff Nelson

"Pop, can I have the camel tonight?"
Lászlo Roth
Esquire, June 1956, page 122

Image courtesy of Jeff Nelson

Camel Crossing
Lászlo Roth
Esquire, August 1956, page 60

Image courtesy of Jeff Nelson

Pepito's Steakhouse
Freshly Killed Beef Daily
Lászlo Roth
Esquire, June 1957, page 117

Image courtesy of Jeff Nelson

Pages from Esquire Classic:

Note:  I offer my thanks once again to Jeff Nelson for furnishing us with the images of Lászlo Roth's cartoons from Esquire. This is the fifth blog post to benefit from his efforts.

03725

Virgil Partch: Show Jumping

Scott Burns has done it again. He writes with an original equestrian cartoon from the madcap Virgil Partch, who signs his name Vip. As prolific as Partch was, Scott notes that we don't see too many of his cartoons in color. Scott dates this cartoon to the Big George years, which would be from 1960, the panel strip's origin, to Partch's death in 1984 (although the comic strip continued until 1990 when Vip's finished gags ran out).

Virgil Partch

Scan by Scott Burns

Note:  My thanks once again go to Scott Burns. This is his fifth contribution to Attempted Bloggery and the fourth original Vip cartoon he has unearthed. What will come next? Wait and see.

Was this cartoon published? If so, where and when? Those are the kinds of questions I like to ask but can't answer. If you can, please contact me.

There is quite a lot of original Virgil Partch cartoon art out there, enough to support a dedicated Vip blog, no doubt. Until such a blog arrives on the scene, I will be happy to post scans of original Partch art right here. All you need is a Partch cartoon and a scanner. Come on, you know what to do.

03410

William Hamilton: The Tautology of Their Symbolism

A 1971 New Yorker cartoon by William Hamilton was deemed good enough to be included in The New Yorker Album of Drawings 1925-1975. The setting is a college seminar; the Harvard seal is prominent in the window. A professor and several students are seated at a long table while one student makes his thoughtful argument.


It was only when listening to the expanded audio edition of Steve Stoliar's compelling Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho's House (1996, 2012) that I learned that Groucho Marx himself had owned Hamilton's original cartoon art corresponding to this gag. And why wouldn't he? The cartoon mocks academic pretense, as Groucho himself had been known to do, while referencing three classic Marx Brothers films. He had it proudly displayed in his Beverly Hills home. Having already contacted Steve to inquire about a book that was once in Groucho's library, I decided to ask as well whether he knew what had become of that cartoon original after Groucho's death. He responded:

No. It was in the front entryway on the left. Across from it was the John Decker "Dutch masters" painting and nobody seems to know what happened to that either, dammit. I was out of the loop after he died. I know a solid chunk of memorabilia did go to the Smithsonian, but when I found a "Paris Review" book that [Dick] Cavett inscribed to Groucho at a local Hollywood bookstore a few years later, I was irked when the bookseller told me there was like a garage sale of a lot of Groucho's stuff, and he got that book amongst other things. I wish I'd've known...But—again—I know not where any of the art ended up.

I asked the same question of acclaimed Groucho portrayer Frank Ferrante, who also knows a thing or two about the comedian and his family life. He replied:

I don’t know of its whereabouts. In fact I didn’t realize he actually owned the original art.

So, a dead end. With no new information to go on, there are frustratingly many possibilities here. The Hamilton drawing might still be held by the heirs of Groucho Marx or it might have found a new owner. It is my hope that someone reading this may know and provide us with more information. A photograph or two, perhaps?

With cartoons by Warren Miller and William Hamilton

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1971-12-11/flipbook/052/

Note:  My thanks to Steve Stoliar for so ably assisting me in my search for the hopelessly unfindable. This is his fifth mention here on the blog. As I've noted just recently, I highly recommend the expanded audiobook edition of Raised Eyebrows which includes Steve's own outstanding narration and voice characterizations. Would I steer you wrong?

Thanks again to Frank Ferrante. This is already his second mention here on the blog.

Let me repeat myself: Attempted Bloggery seeks information, preferably documentary evidence, on the current whereabouts of this splendid work of original cartoon art by William Hamilton. If you've encountered it at any time after Groucho's death in 1977, please drop me a line. Or, better still, write me a thesis.

I'd also be happy to hear from readers with information about other celebrities who might be fortunate enough to own a work or two of original New Yorker art. Relevant photos and stories would be a plus.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

William Hamilton

Steve Stoliar

Groucho Marx

Attempted Bloggery's Lost and Found Index

03387

The Beautiful One's Copy of Roses and Buckshot by James Montgomery Flagg

A Friend of the Blog writes to inform us of a spectacular copy of Roses and Buckshot, the autobiography of American illustrator James Montgomery Flagg published in 1946. It is inscribed to a woman he refers to as "the Beautiful One" with a lovely drawing of her in profile.

Roses and Buckshot (1946)
James Montgomery Flagg

Photo by A Friend of the Blog

Inscribed "To the Beautiful One—
from her greatest
admirer
            Monty Flagg
Nov 3/46"

Photo by A Friend of the Blog

Note:  My thanks to A Friend of the Blog for these photographs. This is my friend's fifth contribution to this blog. A milestone already!

Who then is "the Beautiful One?" Anybody?

Attempted Bloggery seeks books drawn in by James Montgomery Flagg and other major illustrators.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

James Montgomery Flagg

Signed Books with Original Drawings

A Friend of the Blog

Attempted Bloggery's Womanizing Index

03329

Richard A. Farrar's Tiger Scarf

New Yorker artists Charles Addams, Helen E. Hokinson, Anatol Kovarsky, and Otto Soglow created original designs for silk scarves by Richard Farrar in the 1940s and 1950s. Joel Jacobus writes that a new Farrar scarf design has appeared on eBay which the seller attributes to cartoonist Otto Soglow. The eBay item description justifies this by writing "According to the history of Frank [sic] Farrar Scaves [sic] Otto Soglow designed a lot of his scarves especially the circus ones[.]" One wonders whether this blog is the source of the seller's "history."

To be sure, Otto Soglow created two designs that we know of for Richard Farrar, one of a circus and the other of a harem. Both exist in multiple colors. Both designs include the cartoonist's printed signature. Both may be found in the archives of this blog.

This new design on eBay depicts a juggling cartoon tiger surrounded by circus cars. It is unsigned. I personally do not recognize it as the work of Soglow or of any New Yorker artist. 

Richard Farrar
eBay listing retrieved July 1, 2019

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Incredible-Farrar-O-Soglow-Vintage-Circus-Scarf-Folk-Art-Cat-Animal-Carts/254278888652?hash=item3b3433eccc:g:INMAAOSwzWFdFjKZ

Richard Farrar
eBay Item Description

January 31, 2024 Update:  An eBay seller has listed an example of this scarf design in green and brown (with black and white):

Richard A. Farrar Tiger Scarf
eBay listing retrieved January 31, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/195661387623?hash=item2d8e53d767:g:-RAAAOSwAvtin2jK&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4AyMc9ESLTXXVb3D86W276EGPXwpEmYyvA12p73TlBng3ijqu6E2NeixwcGofrs3fIM0q4ip%2B5KJZAlxRnPMRp5fPewNlkw3jnNrWag%2FkiPhrcXSt%2F3zHcpf1Ydwle1j7V4cJRDIx9S9KR0pYznTdOK

HYwo8lT%2Fds378R797loL9VMvMnRA17A5WbMNQAGW1ZTHvG1zvcUFNvFzZusUV59pML0ydH9OQ3b5VYecWRbznIO0aK1ZU3ljbYj2sdFMI%2BVl9CA4%2F80Bd8GQ%2BT%2F5m6YyyBlEAE4m9E4taxCuiwHRJ%7Ctkp%3ABFBMjvyoqKtj

Richard A. Farrar Tiger Scarf
eBay item description

November 9, 2024 Update:  Rachel Sunman has contacted me with photographs of a new and delightful color combination of the tiger scarf, blue and red (plus black and white).

Note:  My thanks to Joel Jacobus, intrepid explorer in the jungle of Charles Addams paraphernalia, who keeps alive the search for more information about Richard Farrar scarves designed by New Yorker artists. This is Attempted Bloggery's fifth post to be derived from his research.

I would like to hear from readers who can identify the designer of this scarf. All speculation is welcome. As always, feel free to disagree with me.

I am still looking for examples of the scarf by Helen Hokinson as well as new color combinations of the Farrar scarves we already know of.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Richard Farrar Scarves

Otto Soglow

Women's Fashion

At the Circus

Attempted Bloggery's Index Index, Burning Bright

02972

John Norment: The Compleat Angler

Contributor Jerome Wrinkle has gone all out to provide us with his favorite gag cartoon on the subject of fishing. The drawing is by John Norment (1911-1988) and it was published in the New York Times Book Review, hence its literary angle. Jerome notes that the verso contains an accounting stamp from the Editorial Auditing Department which documents that Norment was paid $50 for his efforts on Saturday, January 3, 1953, "...so I suspect it appeared prior to that."

John Norment
Original art
New York Times Book Review, c. January 1953

Scan by Jerome Wrinkle

Verso

Artist John Norment was paid $50 on Saturday, January 3, 1953

Scan by Jerome Wrinkle

Note:  I thank Jerome Wrinkle for providing the above images. This is Jerome's fifth contribution to the blog, his deepest yet, and there's more on the way tomorrow.

To the best of my knowledge, examples of original cartoon art that appeared weekly in the New York Times Book Review back in the 1950s are quite rare today. I'd like to hear from anyone who possesses such art. I'd also like to hear from anyone with a copy of the Book Review in which this cartoon appeared.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

John Norment

Jerome Wrinkle

Fishing

The New York Times Book Review

Attempted Bloggery's Compleat Index

02807