Stan Hunt: The View From the Porch Swing

In 2016, a rough drawing by cartoonist Stan Hunt changed hands on eBay.

"Darling, your eyes are like limpid pools! . . . What's the
matter[,] aren't you getting enough sleep?"
Stan Hunt

The drawing with Stan Hunt's signature, lower right, in pencil

Typewritten caption (missing a comma)

Verso

Hunt relocated from Manhattan to Rowayton, Connecticut. (Cartoonist Carl Rose also lived in this town.)

The eBay listing identifies Hunt as a newspaper cartoonist. But as a New Yorker cartoonist whose work appeared in the magazine from 1956 to 1990 (according to Ink Spill), Hunt should be recognized for attaining the highest level of magazine cartooning.

Stan Hunt
eBay listing ended June 5, 2016

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Pencil-Drawn-Cartoon-by-STAN-HUNT-Newspaper-Cartoonist-/262493937198?hash=item3d1ddb9e2e%3Ag%3AdAEAAOSwZ8ZW5Cqi&nma=true&si=YQGb25QThn5Fxe78BW8tTy6VzZY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Stan Hunt
eBay item description

In 2016, the piece sold for a best offer of $15.

Note:  The current owner of the original art has posted it here.

05002

A Dog from Carl Rose

Carl Rose's souvenir drawing of a sitting dog was sent by mail, apparently, from his home in Rowayton. Rose's ink drawing still shows loose pencil outlines. Curiously, graphite markings seem to be present under his signature as well.

Carl Rose
eBay listing ended February 4, 2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283664324625?hash=item420bb61811%3Ag%3A1fwAAOSwZEtdwDie&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Carl Rose
eBay item description

03905

Hans Stengel: A Prince of Broadway

Hans Stengel's original illustration of an entertainment mogul hawking Broadway tickets was published in The New Yorker, an obvious profile illustration with a corresponding art department stamp on the verso. It would have had to appear in print some time between the magazine's founding in 1925 and Stengel's morbid suicide in early 1928, a fact noted by jrpostman, the eBay seller of this art. Postman's contention that it illustrates an A. J. Liebling piece on Jed Harris seems impossible on two counts; Harris was just in his twenties when Stengel died and Liebling didn't arrive at The New Yorker until 1935. 

So just who is this aging impresario of the theater district? As it happens, the subject's name, Joe Leblang, is written right on the front of the drawing. The seller must have misread it as Liebling. Leblang was a discount ticket seller who was profiled in The New Yorker of January 2, 1926. No doubt he sold tickets to some Jed Harris productions.

Joe Leblang
Hans Stengel
Original Profiles illustration
The New Yorker, January 2, 1926, page 11

Verso

Hans Stengel
eBay listing ended December 15, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274900580377?hash=item400159f819%3Ag%3A-e8AAOSwrKFhCZFP&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Hans Stengel
eBay item description

Joe Leblang
Hans Stengel
Original Profiles illustration
The New Yorker, January 2, 1926, page 11

A cartoon by Carl Rose and an illustration by Hans Stengel

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1926-01-02/flipbook/010/

Incidentally, the gorgeous drawing by Carl Rose demonstrates why no one today mourns the two-speaker caption:

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Carl Rose: Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

Did a Madison Avenue advertising campaign successfully counteract Axis propaganda? Ad agency Young & Rubicam's 1943 ad illustrated by cartoonist Carl Rose attempted to alert wartime readers to the presence of supposed news stories that were in reality disinformation promulgated by "Goebbels and his propaganda machine." Rose dutifully illustrated a trio of menacing Nazi wolves disguised in sheep's clothing, which the ad copy described as "the cloak of loyal opposition." Readers were warned that any alleged news that hurt morale; fostered distrust in government, business, or labor; discredited our allies; or benefited our enemies automatically should be suspect. But, while these may have aroused one's suspicions, was that truly the way to verify that a news story was absolutely false? Sometimes the truth can be demoralizing. Sometimes our government or our allies deserved to be discredited. And sometimes a formula for spotting enemy propaganda could be woefully simplistic.

"Praise the Lord—we'll pass as opposition!"
Carl Rose
Young & Rubicam advertisement
1943

https://www.periodpaper.com/products/1943-ad-young-rubicam-advertising-agency-firm-wwii-carl-rose-political-cartoon-114505-fz5-651

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Carl Rose

Advertising

Propaganda

Young & Rubicam

Attempted Bloggery's Sheepish Index

02948

Syd Hoff in College Humor, July 1936

Syd Hoff had no fewer than five cartoons published in the July 1936 issue of College Humor. Two of them involve a butler which most Depression-Era college students probably didn't have much experience with. Two involve a couple kissing and petting in a car, which most college students either knew a lot about or pretended they did. But the first and maybe the most memorable of the cartoons involves an unwelcome and unconventional intruder.

"Papa—I think there's a burglar in the house!"

Syd Hoff

College Humor, Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1936, page 36

"Throw him out!"

Syd Hoff

College Humor, Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1936, page 39

"Don't rush yourselves—I got all night."

Syd Hoff

College Humor, Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1936, page 40

"Mind if I try to pick up somebody for myself?"

Syd Hoff

College Humor, Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1936, page 43

"Now eat that spinach before I get real mad!"

Syd Hoff

College Humor, Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1936
page 48

With this last cartoon, one wonders whether Hoff was thinking of Carl Rose's famous spinach cartoon from The New Yorker in 1928, with a caption penned by E. B. White:

"It's broccoli, dear."

"I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it."

Carl Rose
The New Yorker, December 8, 1928, page 27

http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1928-12-08#folio=026

Note:  It was back in the spring of 2016 in the Butler Library that I photographed this five-bagger by Syd Hoff in a copy of the July 1936 number of College Humor. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to look at more than 99 percent of the 5,600 periodicals now housed in the Steven Boss humor magazine collection. This invaluable collection is stored in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University and is accessible to the general public, even me. For information, contact Curator for Comics and Cartoons Karen Green and tell her you'd like to follow in my footsteps, albeit without the stomping about the library that I promised I wouldn't do anymore.

It should be clear by now that there's quite a treasure trove of work by Syd Hoff out there just waiting to be discovered, much of it hidden away in obscure places. Attempted Bloggery is eager to receive scans or photographs from readers of original art by Hoff as well as published gag cartoons, illustrations, advertisements, and whatnot, especially the whatnot. Finally, anyone who knows the whereabouts of Hoff's large Café Society mural, please give a holler.


External Links:

Syd Hoff, Cartoonist & Author

Syd Hoff's Wikipedia Entry

Syd Hoff on Ink Spill

Christopher Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery on Syd Hoff 

Syd Hoff in the collection of Syracuse University

Syd Hoff on Hairy Green Eyeball

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Syd Hoff

College Humor

Carl Rose

E. B. White

Attempted Bloggery's Undercover Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

02438

Carl Rose: Shake Well Before Using

In October we were treated to a single page of interesting book illustrations on various literary subjects by Carl Rose. At that time the identity of the book for which they were created was unknown. Now the owner of these illustrations has returned and provided us with no fewer than fourteen scans of the sheets each containing a grouping of illustrations. Happily, this more complete set allows us to identify the book they were created for as Shake Well Before Using, a collection of pieces classified as "Mostly Humorous" by Bennett Cerf published in 1948. The name of the book appears at the top of some of the chapter heading illustrations.

To recap the history from the previous blog post, these original illustrations were obtained at "an auction for the benefit of the Democratic Party in Norwalk, Connecticut in the late 1960’s. Mr. Rose, a resident of Rowayton, CT, and apparent party supporter, donated them for the auction." A few examples of printed illustrations from the book are here shown below the sheet on which the original drawings appear. The owner estimates that the pages shown here contain 79 of the approximately 108 illustrations which appear in the book.

Section 1: "The Front Page"
Bennett Cerf, Shake Well Before Using, 1948, pages viii-1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shake-Well-Before-Using-Bennett-Cerf-1948-vintage-hard-cover-book/292363835920?hash=item44123e1a10:g:rJ8AAOSwYlJW4gvY

Gargantua and Toto
Bennett Cerf, Shake Well Before Using, 1948, pages 46-47

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shake-Well-Before-Using-Bennett-Cerf-1948-vintage-hard-cover-book/292363835920?hash=item44123e1a10:g:rJ8AAOSwYlJW4gvY

Section 11: "Radio"
Bennett Cerf, Shake Well Before Using, 1948, pages 250-251

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shake-Well-Before-Using-Bennett-Cerf-1948-vintage-hard-cover-book/292363835920?hash=item44123e1a10:g:rJ8AAOSwYlJW4gvY

The book:

Shake Well Before Using (1948) by Bennett Cerf
Illustrated by Carl Rose

Shake Well Before Using (1948)
Title page

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22656302807&searchurl=tn%3Dshake%2Bwell%2Bbefore%2Busing%26sortby%3D17

Shake Well Before Using (1948)
Contents

Image added January 15, 2018

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22656302807&searchurl=tn%3Dshake%2Bwell%2Bbefore%2Busing%26sortby%3D17

Note:  As always, Attempted Bloggery seeks to publicize original art by Carl Rose. Original book illustrations, cartoons, and other works are welcome.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Carl Rose

Bennett Cerf

Original Book Illustrations

Attempted Bloggery's Shaken, Not Stirred, Index

Attempted Bloggery supports net neutrality.

02429