William Steig: Headstrong Husband

A 1970 New Yorker cartoon original by the great William Steig remained in the collection of Neil and Susan Sheehan for well over five decades, it seems. Then, along with a few other Steig drawings of theirs, it appeared suddenly on the market last weekend and was sold within twenty-four hours. At least we got to see it before it passed back into obscurity.

William Steig
Framed, original art
The New Yorker, January 10, 1970, p. 20

William Steig's signature

The price was $500.

William Steig
AbeBooks listing ended May 17, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/art-prints/ORIGINAL-1970-NEW-YORKER-CARTOON-Signed/32447228712/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=img

Careful readers may have noticed that this week's posts include no fewer than three Steig drawings featuring disembodied heads. Coincidence? Not exactly. Yesterday's post was a variation on this same theme as Steig worked through the idea in his New Yorker submissions. As for Tuesday's post with that knight raising the severed head, well, these things happen.

Oh, yes. Here's how today's drawing looked in The New Yorker:

William Steig
The New Yorker, January 10, 1970, p. 20

William Steig
Framed, original art
The New Yorker, January 10, 1970, p. 20

With drawings by William Steig and Charles Saxon

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1970-01-10/flipbook/020/

* * *

It can be no accident that the simple, direct contours of the emotionally overwrought Steig drawing are contrasted on the page opposite with the lush tones and genteel manner of the cartoon by Charles Saxon, who here is conscripted to play superego to Steig's id, if you will. 

"It seems to me that you've simply got to be for
or against sex these days."
Charles Saxon
The New Yorker, January 10, 1970, p. 21

So there you have it: a cartoon depicting surreal, raw anger and one with politicized, unsexy talk of sex, both spanning a single spread in The New Yorker back in January of 1970. 

By the way, I don't recall any other New Yorker artist so casually having his character self-decapitate as Steig has done here. For that matter, who else has resorted to this Saxon trick of placing a face at a dinner party between the candles in a candelabra? For the cartoonists, it's all about the faces.

Ah, there are such riches to be found in these back issues.

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Charles Saxon: Deck Chairs

A Charles Saxon drawing known as Deck Chairs looks for all the world like a cartoon missing its caption. The setting is the shaded deck of a cruise ship. Passengers are wearing coats and some are reclining on deck chairs under heavy blankets. The woman second from the left is speaking to another woman next to her, turning away from a man who is, possibly, her husband. An attentive member of the crew is standing in the background.

Deck Chairs
Charles Saxon

The framed drawing was exhibited at a show called Artists of The New Yorker in February of 2000 at Davis & Langdale Company, Inc., but that does not necessarily mean the drawing ever appeared in the magazine, only that the artist did. It was number 48 on the art gallery checklist (not here provided) but no caption is noted on the frame backing, only the title. It was later sold at Doyle New York on May 12, 2020, part of the collection of Patricia and Donald Oresman, for $343, and on eBay on October 25, 2021, not all that long after, for $240.

Charles Saxon's signature

Charles Saxon
eBay listing ended October 25, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/403036049513?hash=item5dd6d21069%3Ag%3A58cAAOSwXKNhAxfY&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Charles Saxon
eBay item description

If I may be permitted to present my auction chronology in reverse, here is the earlier Doyle New York sale:

Charles Saxon
Doyle New York Paintings & Drawings Online, May 12, 2020

https://doyle.com/auctions/20dn01-paintings-drawings-online/catalogue/57-charles-saxon

Now Saxon had a five-page cartoon spread—just imagine such a thing today—called "Caribbean Cruise" in the New Yorker issue of January 23, 1960, but this drawing seems to be somewhat later. It is less inky than the 1960 drawings and relies more on Conté crayon for its atmospheric effect.

After almost five years of pondering this image and hoping to miraculously come across it in print with a humorous if understated caption, I've decided to let my readers have a go at it. Where then might this Charles Saxon drawing have been published and with what printed caption? There is no prize for a correct answer, but you are always free to treat yourself to a little celebratory cruise.

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Bob Hemminger's Copy of One Man's Fancy by Charles Saxon

Online discounts tend to get serious on Thanksgiving Day weekend as sellers try to move as much inventory as they can before Christmas. Something similar happens in stores with Black Friday deals. And this year both consumers and retailers have increased cause for anxiety about the uncertain economy.

Behold then a signed copy of Charles Saxon's 1977 cartoon collection One Man's Fancy, which I've been following with interest for more than a year, suddenly reduced in price from $75 to $56.25, a 25% discount—though perhaps it was priced just a little lower one year ago. The seller, Space Cadets Collection, lowered the cost of many if not all of its listings on the auction site eBay.

The book's front cover illustrates idyllic behavior in business attire; the back cover does the same but without the attire.

This copy is dedicated to one Bob Hemminger by the artist. Saxon didn't typically add drawings to his inscriptions, but he did here.

The copyright page demonstrates how important The New Yorker is to the artist's oeuvre.

Here's the listing as it stood on Thanksgiving Day:

Charles Saxon
eBay listing accessed November 27, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304846112624?_skw=yorker&itmmeta=01KB30REVFMCB5HPWJCRY2V0AD&hash=item46fa3e8770:g:I9sAAOSwamVkBrdS

Charles Saxon
eBay item description

Did I mention that after a year of eying this one from afar, I went and took the bait?

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Lucretia J. Weed's Copy of One Man's Fancy by Charles Saxon

The Charles Saxon collection One Man's Fancy was published by Dodd, Mead & Company in 1977.

Front cover

Back cover

Spine

Inside dust jacket copy

Publisher Lucretia J. Weed's copy is inscribed to her by the artist.

Inscribed half title

"To Lucretia Weed—
In hopes that you enjoy
this book as much as I
enjoyed producing it with
Peter's gentle supervision.
Charles Saxon"

Title page

Copyright page

"I'm very sorry, Freddie, but I'm afraid I just don't relate to potted plants."

Unjacketed cover

Unjacketed spine

Charles Saxon
eBay listing ended March 9, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/405533381261?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160811114145%26meid%3Dd955547680564080b7b8489298ffc6f0%26pid%3D100667%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D405533381261%26itm%3D405533381261%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2351460&_trksid=p2351460.c100667.m2042

Charles Saxon
eBay item description

The book was offered at a discount:

Note:  Another personalized cartoon book from the incomparable George Booth to publisher Lucretia J. Weed has been archived here. This one blogger's fancy is to post images of other books personalized by Charles Saxon (although I certainly would consider adding other New Yorker cartoonists to the mix).

04988

Charles Saxon: Losing His Cool

Today our friend David from Manhattan writes of an animated advertising campaign designed by New Yorker cartoonist Charles Saxon (1920-1988):

Charles Saxon, best known for his New Yorker cartoons and covers, displayed a bold, distinctive hand when writing out captions on finished drawings, or adding an inscription to one of his books. But on rare occasions this became a sly sans-serif style that added to the humor of his advertising artwork. Television commercials for the Los Angeles radio station KOST 103.5 FM feature a woman seated by her radio, assaulted by alarmist voices. 

In 2014 Heritage Auctions offered preliminary artwork and hand-painted production cels from this ad project. There were also drawings of a male radio listener, most notably a hand-colored, signed work with an interesting blast of r&b sounds: "Mama Love Ya... Yeah Mama...Hey Hey," etc., and was probably intended to run concurrently with his lady listener. 

An example of a production cel makes a similar point, though it seems far less effective. In addition, a group of 12 drawings and proofs of the same lady listener turned up later that year on eBay and sold for a reasonable $125. In conte crayon on tracing paper, they show the artist trying out various comic expressions.

 

But two drawings, both signed, display before & after reactions to the radio's voices, and like his r&b listener, are in stark contrast to Saxon's usual affluent men and women of the upper middle class who value calm and financial security, or as Edward Sorel put it when he eulogized Saxon in his 1997 essay for American Heritage, "It Was Nice": "His cool, carefully composed drawings never suggest outrage." 

There's also a proof of additional air quotes with an intriguing note by the artist: "'Newsed Out' Billboard," which suggest KOST may have had plans beyond TV ads and might explain an attractive hand-colored drawing from the Heritage offerings, with Saxon's woman no longer "newsed out"—perfect eye-candy for a billboard. 

"Newsed Out"

Described by the auction house as created in the late 70s or early 80s, do these television spots still exist somewhere? Were there ever any billboard displays?

Postscript:  In addition to his work for KOST, Saxon went all out with a full-page ad Christie's Auctions ran years ago in art journals and The New Yorker; I don't know if anyone at Christie's provided ideas, though a line about someone's great-grandfather being outbid by the Duke of Wellington and never forgiving him, would not have been out of place in a Saxon cartoon. But as the page is presented, we get a tour de force of overheard party chatter, mostly revolving around Christie's, with eleven upscale men and women, unaware they were being sketched and recorded by a master.

Christie's advertisement
Charles Saxon
The New Yorker

Note:  I for one could use a billboard to show my appreciation to David from Manhattan for sharing his insights into Charles Saxon with us here. This is, impressively, his sixty-eighth contribution to Attempted Bloggery and I am so grateful for the day off. 

Natually, I would hope to hear from anyone in possession of the Saxon video or print advertising campaign for KOST. Photos of billboards welcome.

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