A Soft and Mushy Letter From Sam Gross

An autograph letter from cartoonist Sam Gross to a Mr. Wright is dated July 11, 1980, and is a reply to a fan letter from June 30. This is the unexpected highlight of an eBay listing for a copy of An Elephant is Soft and Mushy: More Cartoons by Sam Gross (1980).  It is everything a letter from a cartoonist should be: articulate, funny, and legible.

The full eBay listing follows, but don't try to buy the book and the letter yourself. A certain blogger just may have beaten you to it.

Title page

Just look at all the publications in which Gross published cartoons in the 1960s and 1970s:

Sam Gross
eBay listing accessed September 19, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/135771333651?_skw=an+elephant+is+soft+and+mushy&itmmeta=01K5J5NDRS38AHGK0YPYQ66GF8&hash=item1f9c9a2413:g:vdoAAeSwW51oG75d&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAABAFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1csc%2BIMEYVD8GoKo0ZRISuwZe0BxpMdH7YftA%2BbQPYt40Yh%2Fe5hN9K5DiGaE1gYCrZNO2jr%2Bk5fkQd%2BrgI%2BYtc61NNbUa8QXjJ

35fLoLIb9h1E0FxTgr4437nQWXqVGRT5grT5aMJuReh%2BjdobS2LgTv%2B6xz%2Fa2KvsJDa2KDrc4x%2BMdxhEx%2BFiJKlRfmI4HlYERtWl%2FfV1W3CPMjlitO0yFj4Jan3p4z1t2kj%2FsTLbE%2FQKhpuA%2BzQ%2FURdTts8Td42QbARrMaFkFVCFv3SK1sH1h5O5l35PBIU0cRAhWTP0z2epLy6DCCa9J3j87tU3wwRk%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8Tc1cWsZg

Sam Gross
eBay item description

Note:  Sam Gross was an interesting guy. This blog thrives on posting original art, personalized books, and correspondence by such interesting guys. You know what to do.

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A Letter from Gluyas Williams to Tom Sanders

In 1932, a fan named Tom Sanders, interested, apparently, in becoming a cartoonist, requested an autograph from Gluyas Williams, one of the most technically skilled artists working for Harold Ross's New Yorker. Williams responded to the request with an ALS written on his Boston stationery. It was sold in September on eBay.

For what it's worth, numerous closeups of handwritten letters don't really help:

And the verso:

Gluyas Williams
eBay listing ended September 13, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/166926813309?_skw=signed+Yorker&itmmeta=01JEMDPB7E7H24N1XTSME6NSDQ&hash=item26dd9d087d:g:x8UAAOSw9ptmw1oh&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmjdcZXuAzwldE

J0RNEU8E3bRVz7eS7mW8oJNReIWcUuw64kQM%2BP0%2FAw0l2Zz3U3mc0s0TKG786m18C%2FZkiQgHH1zj%2F51g3zABJbN67liyQSiqLPj6GtR8G6Xge%2FvxSglNvJLF3D0TbheCmalpvPOIDQCe5yszhdKslrtR%2B2SJiA

9lZXOem4nS0hFlZGXTHdTVpMWkv%2B1rswOIu5XW8F%2FIt1U0TBjd7y8Uimn2cMwkCm1lEN5myMpsEj0BRZ18zhZuUeefA9rhN4YhTLrZ7PA6aqA9U6zgUt5q%2Ff2Aaf2Q5%2BA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_Kz2Y31ZA

Note:  If this letter looks familiar, that may be because it was featured on Ink Spill's post of September 17, 2024, complete with transcription and a better photo: https://michaelmaslin.com/tuesday-spill-an-art-spiegelman-documentary-gluyas-williams-on-being-a-cartoonist-its-lots-of-fun-at-times/

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Peter Sellers to Harvey Orkin's Son Anthony

Writer and talent agent Harvey Orkin (1918-1975) represented actor Peter Sellers (1925-1980). Two signed pieces from the actor to Orkin's son Anthony have recently come to the market from Downtown Brown Books of Portland, Oregon. One handwritten note on a Gucci card reads "From the desk of Peter (Pete) Sellers with Compliments." The second note, on Regency Hotel stationery, is more personal. Addressed to Anthony, it dates from the time period after "The Return of the Pink Panther" was shot but before its 1975 release.

Peter Sellers
AbeBooks listing accessed September 8, 2024

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31967335852&searchurl=ds%3D30%26kn%3DOrkin%26rollup%3Don%26sortby%3D17%26vci%3D50957077&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp0-_-title5

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Malcom Hancock: A Price List for Joel

It's a shame that we don't have the date for a rather interesting letter from cartoonist Malcolm "Mal" Hancock (1936-1993) written by hand to a fan named Joel. A business card is stapled to the sheet. The letter is apparently a response to a request for original art. It was sold on eBay in January for $40.

Shrewdly, Mal twice describes the purchase of his cartoon art as an "investment." He gives Joel a price list for his artwork including syndicated panel cartoons The Lumpits (1970-1978) and Foster Fenwick (1968-1982) as well as magazine work for The Saturday Review/World, The New Yorker, and Playboy. Mal's first New Yorker cartoon was published in 1973, so this letter most likely dates some time from 1973 to 1982, after which he introduced a new panel title not mentioned here. It more likely dates from 1973 to 1978 when both panel strips mentioned were in syndication, but no matter how early this price list may be, original published New Yorker art priced at $100 seems improbably inexpensive. (According to Michael Maslin's Ink Spill, Mal published only two New Yorker drawings, in 1973 and 1975.) At $250, the Playboy cartoons are the priciest listed, perhaps because they were in color or perhaps because they were most in demand.

Mal Hancock
eBay listing ended January 15, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/374461145698?hash=item572f9fa262%3Ag%3AoHcAAOSwh7djtji7&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4MXr%2B%2FqTDmwm2fHaEDB3CkWWDahSpUbFP%2FPGgBw2R5Nd0I8d5%2FgBk3uvU2L2MJ2gA0DiIbNzk1x7YDSGnUPq%2F2x5epwXc1kZHecQ9aX1HqlSbP9lPuyXLk4cLOffNuT0GNSyOq5CfWaTxwl%2FOUJbtLfvj96XzbiZowWoJOsMBKTe5

uwY39jgGI2rtaYnLiCi5gOQibqmBJDqzpjTeuE0TGREO1sR38ljBI8cR9%2FqElgrrNWndUetHsrHiG2E1FlBdGyvBDUB1HD5uDaYjH3Y6AUw7uLkW8wdrAibpzjih8oB%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8aruZbrYQ&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

A vintage postcard currently listed on eBay shows the Plymouth Building in downtown Minneapolis, where Mal Hancock kept an office for eight years.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/385514654313?hash=item59c276ca69:g:sQAAOSwCGthArqA&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4Im2G%2FT
pjAYpASt9ady0kO1JPpPI0QO%2FwUE43NHW0TunNQ%2BRAhDfl8d8673nBKphMRZ6WjhSBWHAdaq76Q76t8cY6WDCEb1VcrBJbev
GdULfjcpwXxEBtvRoZ4OKqbrAX9hAETuSpmnqrao67to%2BXO2P1wdE%2BFV04a%2BYc%2F7fEijaBQxJclzsOTWzsmMV5gqM9vJCsO
bWYva6DGFCKgSo%2Bd1xgQZMoRYZ40d38DpG6vE24TOK07e%2B8k7B4VD%2FAPGvYrxdxUGj4%2BO39HuS
U9AUtZH8lQIviUwL%2FUDDXUcXVltC%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5aF7b_sYQ

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Jerry Granat's Copy of Monster Rally by Charles Addams

In November of 1975, autograph collector Jerry Granat was very specific about what he wanted from Charles Addams when he sent the cartoonist a copy of Monster Rally (1950) for a signature. "In keeping within the pattern of my other books signed by artists, please don't forget to include a sketch or drawing within. I will appreciate this because, as I previously wrote you, an original drawing by the artist is making my book collection an exciting one, as opposed to an ordinary autograph collection." I fully agree with the sentiment, although I've never had the nerve to request such a thing so blatantly. But then, Jerry figured out how to get his copy of Monster Rally drawn in by Addams, and I didn't.

It's an unusual personalized book. Addams's drawing is not in the front of the book, but on page 83 under a cartoon of Uncle Fester on the road. It depicts a shirtless Pugsley flexing his biceps to try and impress a doubtful Wednesday. So Jerry obtained a drawing with two Addams Family characters for his efforts.

Addams's note, included with the lot, is dated prior to Jerry's typewritten letter, so it may refer to a different book he only signed.

This lot was offered yesterday with a presale estimate of $1,000 to $1,500. Early bidding was already at $700 two weeks before the sale.

Charles Addams
Potter & Potter Auctions, Inc., listing accessed c. January 29, 2023

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/addams-charles-1912-1988-an-original-ink-and-wash-128-c-c294939a52?objectID=176871504&algIndex=upcoming_lots_prod&queryID=d1244e1b45f3b29896a71764e0b8e573

The book sold for a $1900 hammer price, well above the high estimate, plus there's that $475 buyer's premium:

April 8, 2023 Update:  The book is now being offered by Neverland Books of Waalre, Netherlands for $5,000, a markup of about 100%, possibly more, depending on tax and shipping costs.

Charles Addams
AbeBooks listing accessed April 8, 2023

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31472122247&searchurl=an%3Dcharles%2Baddams%26sgnd%3Don%26sortby%3D100%26tn%3Dmonster%2Brally&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title2

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George Booth: Into the Dictionary

New Yorker cartoonist George Booth, who passed away this week on November 1, spoke at the Society of Illustrators five years ago in conversation with animator J. J. Sedelmaier, who curated the concurrent exhibition "George Booth: A Cartoonist's Life." One of the things Booth said was that he liked to go to the dictionary, of all places, for cartoon ideas. That was interesting but, to me, it seemed to be an oversimplification of the sort of advanced wordplay the author of "Ip Gissa Gul" [The New Yorker, January 20, 1975, p. 32] actually engaged in.

Sarah Booth, George Booth, and J. J. Sedelmaier in conversation at the Society of Illustrators, November 8, 2017

My photograph, edited for brightness by J. J. Sedelmaier

A recent eBay listing, though, may shed some light on his process. A sketch Booth included in a note to one John may be a true example of the dictionary approach he described. The line, "One feels better after the morning enharmonic," indeed sounds as if it might have been derived from browsing a dictionary, and it prompted me to look up the unfamiliar word's definition. Enharmonic, then, is defined as relating to notes with the same pitch but different notations, such as C sharp and D flat. It is always an adjective, never a noun, except in the skilled hands of George Booth, whom I suspect was influenced by the word's sound rather than its dictionary definition.

George Booth
eBay listing accessed September 18, 2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/385059624553?hash=item59a7579669:g:ezgAAOSwMkli9qKx&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoAYV76KZ3YuY949KduhYfUbQos8NbKYVCta9piScgZGc0Os1ZIgtvlwXc%2BjQUkuisj9fL%2FEPdxeUNt9C5j7H4enCVZyeDuuz7ff6%2Bpq%2BR7uMJfpzrNj8KPGJR48YqJ0v2hJ0H8ehXRv5g6hgEO1A8dAUDe0AMfUIUZ4gOjpcIdQBLqxXhm%2BphRU%2BerVioVD8mexHlk38U67J4TlFR0PuCyI%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4j3z-PpYA

George Booth
eBay item description

Note:  Got an illustrated letter from the late George Booth that's crying out to be posted online? This could be your blog. What about a Booth drawing that looks as if it may have stepped off the pages of the dictionary? Again, this blog could be at your service.

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