Showing posts with label New York Times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York Times. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Sight Unseen: Lea and Everett Raymond Kinstler's Copy of Here at The New Yorker by Brendan Gill

Brendan Gill's Here at The New Yorker was published in 1975 to celebrate the magazine's fiftieth anniversary. It served as my introduction to The New Yorker's rich history. Aside from the many artistic, literary, and corporate characters we learn about, there is Daniel H. Silberberg, whom Gill describes as "an advisor to both the editorial and business sides of the magazine." In a discussion of his work during the years under Harold Ross's editorial leadership, Silberberg is depicted in a portrait by the painter Everett Raymond Kinstler. 


On February 10, 1975, Gill inscribed a copy of the newly-published book to Kinstler and his wife Lea. It turned up on AbeBooks last month in a listing from Dave's Books of Brooklyn. It was illustrated only by a stock photo. This photo shows the wonderful dust jacket by Charles Addams, but the actual book that was offered for sale had lost this dust cover some time over the past half century. Of course, the endpaper still has the inscription from Gill and, priced at only $10.44, the volume was a piece of New Yorker history I felt I should buy—even sight unseen—in this, the magazine's centennial year.

Stock photo

Brendan Gill
AbeBooks listing accessed September 21, 2025

Brendan Gill
AbeBooks item description



Gill's inscription has been discolored, probably from his 1997 Times obituary being stored directly against it.


Kinstler's painting is reproduced on page 191.

Gill's stated concern that the picture credits treat Kinstler's portrait as if it were "a mere photograph" seems a little overblown to me:

Gill's obituary from the Times came loosely folded into the book:

Also found in the book is this short promotional biography of the artist with his portrait of John Wayne.




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Sunday, August 17, 2025

Ed Arno: Nursing St. Bernards

A decade ago, eBay hosted Live Auctions. One could bid on individual lots from many of the smaller auction houses through the eBay platform. Apparently, the margins were too small to make it worth eBay's while, and the online service shut down Live Auctions giving only short notice. Today, this market is largely divided between Invaluable and Live Auctioneers.

A 1969 cartoon original by Ed Arno was sold by National Book Auctions late in 2016.


The subject was nursing St. Bernards—one could almost imagine the gag from those three words. It had been published in The New York Times.




Ed Arno's signature

Copyright notice


Ed Arno
eBay listing ended October 8, 2016


Ed Arno
eBay item description

Ed Arno
eBay bid history
The lone bidder must bid against the auction house's reserve.






Note:  A little Ed Arno art serves to warm up one's insides. Readers are encouraged to submit examples to this blog.




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Tuesday, August 5, 2025

The First Addams Family Dolls

Wednesday's child is full of woe
—"Monday's Child"


I've written it here many times over the years when discussing Charles Addams: Although the Addams Family characters we are so familiar with today had their published origin in The New Yorker in 1938, these family members themselves weren't given proper names until the appearance of the television show in 1964. These are no doubt wise and well-considered words of mine—if only they were correct!


Wednesday, the morbidly-inclined Addams Family girl, actually received her name three years before the TV series. She is named for the day of the week in the nursery rhyme on which a child is born "full of woe."


The New York Times announced the appearance of a Wednesday doll on August 11, 1961. In a short article titled "Cartoon Child Called Wednesday is Recreated as Woeful Rag Doll," readers learned that the Addams doll would be available in early September at Brentano's and Doubleday, leading area bookstores.


The New York Times, August 11, 1961, p. 14


A few of these dolls are still around. They originally retailed for $7.98 and were created by Aboriginals, Ltd. Some color photos of the 1961 Wednesday doll, 22" high, taken from eBay are now archived on Worthpoint:






The Times article also hints at a doll under development featuring Wednesday's brother, the as yet unnamed Addams Family boy. Today we all call him Pugsley but Addams, we know, wanted to name him Pubert. In the Times, he is just "Addams' little blond boy who keeps reptiles as pets."


The 20" doll was to be issued in 1962, again by Aboriginals, Ltd., marketed under the name Irving—in retrospect maybe not the best choice. An example of the Irving doll was sold at Hake's in 2022 for $1,667.93 including the buyer's premium:




And what of their mother—Morticia, you say? Also issued in 1962, the 48" doll was given her familiar modern name and sold for $19.95. A fine example, again offered at auction by Hake's, sold in 2016 for $3,921.50:










Note:  Season 2 of "Wednesday" premieres tomorrow on Netflix.







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Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Ronald Searle: Royalty Reading the Times

In the mid-1980s, readers of the Sunday Times Magazine section were treated to a delightful full-page color ad campaign illustrated by Ronald Searle. With the recurring slogan  "There's no Times like the present," a page from June 1986 features royalty reading the Times and the single adjective "Peerless." Indeed.

Ronald Searle
There's no Times like the present.

Peerless
The New York Times Magazine, June 22, 1986


Searle chooses not to include the rear chair legs on the ornate royal throne, probably because they might be distracting or confusing in this head-on view. He is clearly not afraid of ornament, but Searle does nevertheless strive for clarity.
Ronald Searle
eBay listing accessed November 8, 2021

Ronald Searle
eBay item description






















March 25, 2023 Update:  Sold!





Note:  The page described as Gripping from this ad campaign by Ronald Searle may be seen here. (It's about tennis, remember?) Another hilarious page, Elevating, was published in the Times Magazine on February 2, 1987. It also appears on page 92 of Ronald Searle's America (2016), compiled by Matt Jones. Has it already been five years?

These selfsame pages may also be seen on Perpetua, the Ronald Searle Tribute blog, which is also the brainchild of Matt Jones. The post is called "Advertising Part 2" and today's king will no doubt eventually find his way there. Just scroll down to the end.

There's more. My archived Attempted Bloggery post here shows Searle's original watercolor art for two unpublished Times ads.

There are definitely other published Searle ads for the New York Times in glorious color. If you have any of these, please forward scans or photos. Sometime's it's hard to fathom the extent of the Times's efforts to advertise the paper to its own readers.




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Saturday, March 27, 2021

Harold Ross and Jane Grant Wed

One hundred one years ago today New York Times reporter Jane Grant and American Legion Weekly editor-in-chief Harold Ross were married. The Times dutifully covered the nuptials of its first full-fledged female reporter after the announcement was made on April 12. Ross was then known for his work during the Great War on Stars and Stripes, which he had been assigned to from its founding, eventually becoming managing editor. In France, Alexander Woollcott had introduced the couple.





Together Ross and Grant would go on to establish The New Yorker in 1925 with the financial backing of Raoul Fleischmann. Ross, of course, served as the magazine's editor while Grant worked at bringing investors and talent, notably Janet Flanner, on board. The magazine became a success but the marriage did not. The couple were divorced in 1929. Grant would publish her memoir Ross, The New Yorker and Me in 1968.




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Thursday, May 7, 2020

Ronald Searle: Tennis for the Times

Ronald Searle's mid-1980s advertising campaign for the New York Times was published in color on full pages in the Times Magazine section. Ads ran with the tag line "There's no Times like the present." This particular ad, featuring Sunday tennis, describes the newspaper as "Gripping." It usually takes awhile to digest the Sunday Times, which can seriously disrupt your set of mixed doubles...
Ronald Searle
There's no Times like the present.

Gripping
The New York Times Magazine, May 4, 1986

Ronald Searle:  Tennis for the Times
eBay Listing Accessed 5/2/2020


Ronald Searle:  Tennis for the Times
eBay Item Description Accessed 5/2/2020
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Note:  Another wonderful page from this advertising campaign, Elevating, was published on February 2, 1987. It is collected on page 92 of Ronald Searle's America (2016) edited by Matt Jones.

An older Attempted Bloggery post here shows Searle's original watercolor art for two unpublished ads for the Times.

I eagerly solicit the submission of other ads from this still-vibrant New York Times campaign. It is my somewhat foggy recollection that each ad was run only once.

This year marks Ronald Searle's centenary. He was born on March 3, 1920.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

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Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Hallowed Haunts: The Drawings and Watercolors of Charles Addams

A single folded leaf served to promote and to catalogue the exhibition "Hallowed Haunts: The Drawings and Watercolors of Charles Addams." Addams's original works were exhibited in New York at the National Academy of Design from November 3, 1991 to January 12, 1992—the closing date was later extended. In the more than a quarter century since the show, no one else has posted this leaflet on the internet, a glaring oversight to be sure. So I thought I'd take the liberty...
"Hallowed Haunts: The Drawings and Watercolors of Charles Addams."
National Academy of Design
November 3, 1991 to January 12, 1992 [Extended]




Adam Gopnik on Charles Addams



Exhibition Curators Barbara M. Nicholls and Barbara S. Krulik on Charles Addams





The works:
"Hallowed Haunts: The Drawings and Watercolors of Charles Addams."
National Academy of Design
November 3, 1991 to January 12, 1992 [Extended]



That last column was cut off slightly. (Some people shouldn't be trusted with a scanner.) Here it is in full:


Click the aqua link to read about the exhibition as covered in the Times:


https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/22/arts/an-exhibition-of-addams-originals.html



Note:  The fact that I'm not especially gifted with a scanner is no reason you shouldn't try one. Send your scans of original Charles Addams art, correspondence, rarities, and assorted bric-a-brac to Attempted Bloggery for possible use in a future post.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Charles Addams

Barbara Nicholls

Halloween

Original New Yorker Cartoon Art

Attempted Bloggery's Ravenous Index


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