Showing posts with label Bil Baird. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bil Baird. Show all posts

Sunday, July 13, 2025

Blog Post No. 5000: Peter Arno's Side-Show for February 1937

In July of 1985, seventeen works of original cartoon art by Peter Arno published in the magazine College Humor were brought to the Nicholls Gallery in New York. All of them were believed to have been published in the mid-1930s but the specific dates were unknown. Over the years, I have been hunting down various issues of the magazine to identify the print history of each of the drawings in the consignment. Now, forty years after the Arno trove was left with the gallery, I have located the final three cartoons hiding out in the February 1937 issue. 


Yes, I've been searching for decades. For this!
Modeled by Bil Baird
Color photo by Dudley Lee
College Humor, February 1937

As usual, Peter Arno's "Side-Show" includes three cartoons.
"It's the master's idea—says it keeps them out of the Stork Club."

"It isn't every student I'd let mark her own examination paper, Miss Dawson." 
* * *
"You may shut off the heater now, Oglethorpe!"





The original art for these cartoons were included on the photographic contact sheet given to the consignor:
"It's the master's idea—says it keeps them out of the Stork Club."
February 1937

The original art was sold by the Nicholls Gallery at a Guernsey's auction in March of 1986:
"It's the master's idea—says it keeps them out of the Stork Club."
Guernsey's March 1986 illustration art auction catalogue Lot A720
Image added November 14, 2016




A private collector has shared the piece with the blog:
"It's the master's idea—says it keeps them out of the Stork Club."
Peter Arno
Original art
College Humor, February 1937, p. 18


The Miss Dawson cartoon is also on the contact sheet:
"It isn't every student I'd let mark her own examination paper, Miss Dawson."
February 1937


As is the Oglethorpe cartoon:
"You may shut off the heater now, Oglethorpe!"
February 1937


If you thought I couldn't come up with original art a second time, you'd be wrong.
"You may shut off the heater now, Oglethorpe!"
Peter Arno
Original art
College Humor, February 1937, p. 19

Here's the full spread in all its glory:


This February 1937 issue is surprisingly hard to find today given that back in the day every Arno fan in America should have wanted a copy. I eventually came across one on eBay, paired with another issue:

The two College Humor issues were sold together. I made an offer of $25, which was accepted by the seller.
College Humor
eBay listing ended March 10, 2025

College Humor
eBay item description






Note:  The full contact sheet produced by the Nicholls Gallery can be seen here. This blog's collective posts on Peter Arno in College Humor are here. Enjoy!

Even though the publication history of all the Arno cartoons in the Nicholls Gallery consignment now have been identified, the quest is not over. There are other issues of College Humor with Arno art that is often quite wonderful but has never appeared in any Arno cartoon collection. Readers with access to such issues of College Humor with obscure Arno cartoons not already on the blog are invited to get in touch.


There are now fifty Attempted Bloggery centennial posts. About a quarter of them have some Arno content. Happy browsing.


The Attempted Bloggery Centennial Posts 💯
Blog Post No. 100
Blog Post No. 200:  A Shaggy Dog Story




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Sunday, July 28, 2024

Coming Soon: Three Issues of College Humor

The math is straightforward. Each issue of College Humor magazine that included cartoonist Peter Arno's work, circa 1936-1937, contained three cartoons in a popular, I assume, feature called "Side-Show." Of the Arno originals that were either purchased by or consigned to the Nicholls Gallery in 1985, I have yet to account for nine of them in any of the various copies of the magazine I've either collected or else examined at Columbia University. This means I still need to acquire, or examine, at least three more issues to document their content and check it agains the remaining cartoons in the Nicholls consignment. See, it's simple.


I found a couple of the sought-after issues on Etsy, readily available but, to my mind, overpriced. The first of these, from October 1936, announces its Arno content boldly on the cover (as do virtually all of them so far with the artist's work).
Sam Berman
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, October 1936
Etsy listing accessed July 27, 2024
College Humor, October 1936
Etsy price accessed July 27, 2024




The 25% discount from $67.08 to $50.31 is supposed to encourage potential buyers on Etsy. I was encouraged instead by finding a different copy on eBay with a 30% discount, from $35.99 to $25.19. I did not bother to make an offer; I just bought the thing.
Sam Berman
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, October 1936



College Humor, October 1936
eBay listing accessed July 27, 2024

College Humor, October 1936
eBay item description









Next up, a copy of the March 1937 number, again with its Arno content proclaimed on the banner, was priced at $60.37 on Etsy; this a purported 25% discount.
Bil Baird
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, March 1937
Etsy listing accessed July 27, 2024

College Humor, March 1937
Etsy price accessed July 27, 2024


But a little research on my part identified a copy of the issue priced at $30 on eBay, shipping included. I know a deal when I see one.
Bil Baird
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, March 1937


There's one thing the skiing wizard and the girl bronc buster both agree on:

The conscientious seller addressed condition issues I was not really concerned about.




Finally, the December 1934 issue also boasted some Arno drawings. At $14.44, it was the best buy of the three.
Lay off, you mugs
Russell Patterson
Photographed by Eugene Hutchinson
Clothes designed by Gladys Parker
College Humor, December 1934


"Have you tried this enjoyable way of heightening energy?" The Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health is almost three decades in the future.


College Humor, December 1937
eBay listing accessed July 27, 2024

College Humor, December 1937
eBay item description


As you can see, a certain blogger has been quite busy. I spent more than I wished to, but I have a feeling I'm now familiar with at least most of Arno's run in College Humor. And anything remaining may be harder to find and therefore more expensive.



August 3, 2024 Update:  The December issue arrived and, despite the higher 25 cent cover price, it is dated 1934, not 1937 as in the eBay listing. It has two full-page Arno cartoons which predate his "Side-Show" feature. The cover sculptor, Russell Patterson, is now identified. I have updated all this information so the magazines are not presented in the chronological order I had originally intended.



Note:  I'd still like to hear from anyone with Peter Arno rarities, either obscure published cartoons or original art. I'll even do the math.






04704

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Saturday, July 27, 2024

More Issues of College Humor from 1936 and 1937

My reason for pursuing old issues of College Humor magazine is simple. I am looking to document the cartoons that Peter Arno contributed. His work for The New Yorker is legendary, of course, but his contributions to College Humor are largely forgotten except, perhaps, to readers of this blog. The other great cartoonists in each issue are just a wonderful bonus.


On July 12, I picked up three issues with fresh Arno content—August 1936, November 1936, and January 1937—in addition to the four copies I just bought in June. I have already posted the "Side-Show" feature from these, each with three Arno cartoons.


The August 1936 number has pin-up art on the cover by R. F. Schabelitz. How else would one sell a humor magazine? Oh, right, by listing some of the prominent contributors on the cover.

R. F. Schabelitz
College Humor, August 1936

R. Schabelitz's printed signature

Would you like to come up to my dormitory and see my etchings? New Yorker cartoonist Peggy Bacon is one of the artists.



"Life's big question" and maybe not just for 1936:

Campus cartoonists try to ape the style of the pros. That's not really a surprise, is it?

The eBay seller who chose not to photograph the Arno spread did choose to include this one:

The subscription ad, right, is illustrated by Jefferson Machamer:

On pages 42 and 43, we see cartoons by Gregory d'Alessio, Lawrence Lariar, and Syd Hoff. I should be able to get better pictures even with my refusal to use a scanner.

Victor Hugo approves of Camels. No, not that Victor Hugo.

Let me offer a little insight into the nuances of my negotiating technique. The magazine was listed on eBay for $10.00. But there was marker writing on the cover, for crying out loud, so I felt it was fair to offer $7.00 instead. My offer was not accepted and there was no counteroffer from the seller. After moping for a couple of weeks, I eventually came up to $8.00 and that offer was accepted.
College Humor, August 1936
eBay listing ended July 12, 2024
College Humor, August 1936
eBay item description



The second issue I found was November 1936. The cover is by Sam Berman. His football scenario requires a convoluted explanation on the contents page.

Sam Berman
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, November 1936





Camel cigarettes: golfers, bowlers, and busy homemakers swear by them.

College Humor, November 1936
eBay listing accessed July 12, 2024








The January 1937 cover is by Samuel Berman. You can read the expression on her face—or you can read the writing in the ice.
Samuel Berman
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor,  January 1937


Do you have Prince Albert in a can?

College Humor, January 1937
eBay listing ended July 12, 2024


College Humor, January 1937
eBay item description







There is actually a fourth issue from the same seller as the November 1936 and January 1937 issues. The magazine from September 1937 was one that I had already photographed at Columbia University in the Steven Boss Collection, so this was not a part of any Arno quest. For a mere $2.70, I figured, why not add it to my own library?

The cover is by puppeteer Bil Baird. Young romance is a sort of merry-go-round, isn't it?
Bil Baird
Photographed by Dudley Lee
College Humor, September 1937


"Camels never get on your nerves!" Just ask the aquaplane expert.

College Humor, September 1937
eBay listing ended July 12, 2024


College Humor, September 1937
eBay item description











Note:  Imagine what you would see if some kind-hearted friend were to give you a link to all the Attempted Bloggery posts currently showing Peter Arno cartoons from College Humor. That's right, every last one.




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