An original, unsigned, rough drawing executed in Conté crayon and pencil by Charles Addams (1912–1988) is available from Argosy Books of Manhattan. It is set in the waiting room of a psychologist's office. The cartoon is apparently from 1959 according to the listing and was almost certainly submitted to The New Yorker. Today, the drawing will cost you $1750, although a more appropriate price might be $1812.
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| Charles Addams Argosy Books listing accessed February 3, 2023 |
On his Ink Spill blog today, New Yorker cartoonist and historian Michael Maslin identified the finished drawing in the issue of April 20, 1981. Argosy's 1959 date for the rough is almost certainly erroneous. The seated man in the waiting room has been reworked into the seated psychologist. The framed diploma is much more at home in the office than the waiting room. The coat rack, and hence the Napoleon delusion, has become the doctor's own.
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| Charles Addams Preliminary cartoon art The New Yorker, April 20, 1981, page 41 Addams, Charles. Creature Comforts, 1981 |
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| Spot drawing by J. S. Nelson and a cartoon by Charles Addams |
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| Spot drawing of a bucket of tennis balls by J. S. Nelson |
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