Two cartoons by John Ruge were sold together at Weiss Auctions yesterday. Their publication history is unknown.
The first of these shows a pandhandler approaching a fashionable woman for a handout.
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| "Say, mister, could you spare a dollar or two to help pay for my eye examination?" John Ruge |
The second shows Bigfoot as we've never seen him—and from the looks of it we never will.
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John Ruge The estimate for the lot was $150 to $300. No online bids were received before the sale. |
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| John Ruge Weiss Auctions listing accessed November 11, 2023 |
Eighteen floor bids took the hammer price to $230. The buyer's premium is an additional 18%.
Note: I am intrigued by these two cartoons from the hand of John Ruge. Were they published? If so, where? If you know, don't be shy like Bigfoot.
Ruge has been credited with originating Peter Arno's classic 1941 cartoon with the caption "Well, back to the old drawing board." His original rough might very well be lost, or it might be hanging in someone's den. More than eighty years after the fact, I'm asking if anyone has seen the drawing, in a den or otherwise, as Ruge first envisioned it.
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