Otto Soglow: On Strike at the Deli

Original Depression Era New Yorker art dating from 1937 by cartoonist Otto Soglow was sold last month on eBay. The sequential drawing takes us into the nitty gritty of a labor dispute at a delicatessen belonging to one E. Swartz. Will the protest be resolved?

Otto Soglow
Original art
The New Yorker, October 9, 1937, p. 27

Soglow has reoworked the last panel a little. There is some white-out in the area of the picketer's forward leg and some glue staining at the bottom of the hanging placard.

Verso

Otto Soglow
eBay listing ended July 23, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/176486041197?_skw=signed+Yorker&itmmeta=01JA75GRHZ41G1ZVP8WQDWXXJC&hash=item291763466d:g:pBoAAOSwgWRmjrhF&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKnl3XP2vwNBdXK9mSCl48A9hYw29Qlqn6EXU2A1VSRfMEnzvcGhb%2F0RFJTi7GyecDSJOi39%2FC--MrlK%2BYo%2F4r6FuidDi%

2BC3nvj5%2F0GD2ipVeaGfw0N0YlpKt7Us1CQF%2F3384j1s5C3PAXQ%2Bm%2FFwHcWq6GHr9CxzFzpzlMGDeezLu2In0SbHVu5h0AZNgv40EWtNkigrnar33CmkdyoIkBj%2FmT7Hg9N%2FTwfAwJfDb4hFa8PMJj8ziO0e15GC%2FSfpctHqXHaNO%2BJsX4phqy%2FSZ81SZVDBQpw0DOSY0798gT2xjQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4qJw-XRZA

Otto Soglow
eBay item description

[End of eBay listing]

In Soglow's final panel, the bottom of the sign that is worn reads Today's Big Special, which repeats the first words on the sign that is carried. The New Yorker's editors evidently had Soglow restore the bottom of that sign to read Local Union, as in the first panel, with a patch that is now lost. Some residual glue must have caused discoloration to that part of the paper.

Otto Soglow
The New Yorker, October 9, 1937, p. 27

Otto Soglow
Original art
The New Yorker, October 9, 1937, p. 27

With cartoons by George Price and Otto Soglow

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1937-10-09/flipbook/026/

* * *

On the other side of the page, cartoonist George Price uses shading and a more relaxed and freewheeling line to produce a very different sort of cartoon image. Here he shows a physician perched upon a laboratory table during an office visit, perhaps not such an unconventional seating choice when there is no examining table. Price, though, is making fun of a cigarette promotion which must have been very familiar at the time to the magazine's readers. Line thickness and empty white space assures that we don't miss the essential speech balloon.

"It suddenly appeared                                         

when I started working on that Old Gold contest."

George Price

The New Yorker, October 9, 1937, p. 26

The thing is, I haven't been able to find a print example of the Old Gold cigarette contest referenced in the Price cartoon. Still, I think I know a caption contest when I see one.

Note:  With the help of enterprising collectors, I would love to dedicate future posts on this blog to examples of original art by the likes of New Yorker cartoonists Otto Soglow and George Price. I would also like to add information about that elusive Old Gold contest right here.

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Otto Soglow: A British-American Trade Agreement

An original seven-panel cartoon by Otto Soglow was sold on eBay in May. Trade agreements seldom provide much grist for the humor mill, although for all we know today's headlines might prove an exception. During World War II, it seems, Soglow presented us with the signing of a British-American trade agreement, though which one is not specified. His gag requires the knowledge that B.A.W.T.H. was the British Air War Training Headquarters, a piece of history difficult to verify today even with the guiding hand of Google. Could this obscure acronym have been common knowledge eighty years ago? Whatever the case, the eBay seller's earnest explication of this cartoon is quite plausible although his assertion that it was published in The New Yorker in 1944 is not.

Otto Soglow
eBay listing ended May 14, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/177012260137?_skw=signed+Yorker&itmmeta=01JYQG3M8GW96MJG3KA03D2EZT&hash=item2936c0bd29:g:gNcAAOSwl8pn~CC2&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1dacfyyeeR7QgIau3bXrixl1mxRRTybaTtv2HTUuzglCy4hB%2BPYy4oIrXbC7h1b8xqHyt4Pl2hH4D

VKj7vhypDsnwG2Ypd7B%2FHUMm8uG5ggKSYQE%2FozpKaUbkXCkQ9QmgnoR%2FbzTZWrC1VknrbphSioR6MGvMwkpcqlNM9wxpzcQkp83LgOC%2BAjOQ8CSi0WaOw6Vo6Jnk%2Bfj3bF36XCSSApQoTTNuwUQjsscG8VCgjdd0Y1OvUh0hvV8SiIgokvwO8%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7jEjvD1ZQ

The seller's interpretation of the Soglow cartoon is as good as one could hope for. But it is preceded by "Original Art drawn for an article in The New Yorker magazine for a story relating to WWII." That's not how it worked. This wasn't a story illustration but a stand-alone cartoon with very likely no relation to whatever text it appeared next to in whatever magazine it may have been. There is also a very specific seller note: "Original Artwork for New Yorker Magazine used once for printing then retained by the artist." Anything's possible.

Otto Soglow
eBay item description

Note:  At any rate, this drawing by the prolific Otto Soglow almost certainly was published somewhere. Anyone in the know should get in touch so we can set the record straight.

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James Trembath in College Humor, January 1940

A forgotten magazine cartoon by James Trembath was posted by Michael Maslin on his Ink Spill blog ten days ago after fellow cartoonist Paul Karasik brought it to his attention. The drawing had appeared in the November 18, 1929 issue of Judge and lampooned an ongoing series of manhole drawings by Otto Soglow that were appearing in The New Yorker at the time. The impeccably illustrated discussion appears here.

Trembath was born in Michigan in 1888. He was a regular contributor of covers and cartoons to Judge and other publications, but his work never appeared in Harold Ross's New Yorker. His art isn't that familiar today, but I can share here a couple of obscure cartoons from College Humor, Volume 11, No. 1, the January 1940 issue.

Compared with the sendup of Soglow, I find these to be a little disappointing. Of course, they reflect the attitudes of their time filtered through the sophomoric lens of a magazine aimed at the college crowd:

"Why, no, ma'am—what makes you think there's a cop in the kitchen?"
James Trembath
College Humor, January 1940, p. 13

"It's no use, Inspector, she won't stop talking."
James Trembath
College Humor, January 1940, p. 19

04950

Otto Soglow: The Little King for A. Atlas Leve

Argosy Book Store has listed a souvenir drawing by Otto Soglow of his beloved character the Little King. It is dedicated to A. Atlas Leve, a coin, stamp, and currency dealer. The piece is framed and glazed, and the paper shows some toning. Argosy dates it to the 1930s. The Little King first appeared in The New Yorker and the popular feature was later syndicated as a comic strip.

"To A. Atlas Leve
from
O. Soglow"

Otto Soglow
Argosy Book Store listing accessed April 8, 2025

https://www.argosybooks.com/pages/books/327242/otto-soglow/original-signed-ink-drawing

 

04916

Otto Soglow:: A 1951 Little King Christmas Card

The Little King appears on a 1951 Christmas card designed by his creator Otto Soglow and published by his syndicate King Features. The monarch is shown carrying a Christmas tree home through the snow, as kings are wont to do. The vintage card opens to reveal how the Little King trimmed the tree and gave it pride of place.

Otto Soglow
eBay listing accessed December 10, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/156495847560?_skw=Little+King+Christmas+Card&itmmeta=01JESC2ABXHS00N63BE60G95KZ&hash=item246fe12088:g:gc4AAOSw4N1j0WIQ&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKlmbsokPDd8OUb4VoAgz7qjq8jaToPs4ngElbZs6dgBj%2BD89BqqRvseQIdRe%2BStRVSVNZFdFlHrDMfaP9dd9iCxCkzYy3XGh4U4JaCzlCLJK1o8vVKK

Wh4sav%2B0C7ORjyoaAog4agMAO17wUGtjlCFwQlPq4zoZTI2F5zu5xf%2F0xhWTdEtKat3CDJAHEZXL76tAD4pKpMOac7Q26yK7jfkuNtWmtGHNL1Mkl2w30PyrbnY%2BRWrRkpS%2F3CbNLXp%2Fq7kv81mKkDjAsFIkyeeDdeeUMhVZINy2B7O9IdMtBojrXA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4ymiaz2ZA

Otto Soglow
eBay item description

04821

Inner Sanctum Picture Puzzles by Peter Arno, Tony Sarg, Otto Soglow, and William Steig

In 1933, Simon & Schuster published four Inner Sanctum Picture Puzzles. These were jigsaw puzzles with interlocking pieces "happily matched" in some unusual but relevant shapes. The black and white images displayed on the box covers teasingly hint at the full color pictures to be seen once the 300-piece puzzles are completed. The comic artists involved in the project were Peter Arno, Tony Sarg, Otto Soglow, and William Steig.

First up is none other than Arno, whose work in The New Yorker was extremely popular. His puzzle is titled Peek-a-Boo! Arno suggestively builds on his reputation as a ribald cartoonist. "This is the story of the Bounder and the Bothered Beauties," the promotional copy on the box cover reads, suggesting something naughty within. 

"Note:  This is a very small section of the picture you will find in the box."

Peter Arno
eBay listing ended November 30, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/375812493660?_skw=Peter+Arno+Press+Photo&itmmeta=01JE01XZH3JFDMNHA6DXBB1YC6&hash=item57802b915c:g:encAAOSwAW9nL61H&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmI%2BLE7Xasrm0ZL%2BB3Rn2qqWl3G%2BtaHw

eOyxK%2Fg6ZMR3oAEaNt9fmz1NXhudffgdna1gM1H1dEDWjQ%2FHtXPk6HAZAJ6cztSjU7AkbpfEjQuca9j2XfDsR7D6Di%2BhIz8ubTqoLdLI%2F05LiENpsCA15gX6C9A3xgYyBFC0yOH7555qEsWN3Rxwo1%2FJtghaQonZ9UQIGL8D1koWf9xxmpjk7qg%2FOCi2s7pKu97MjOUmWueVkp8

NRKkb%2BD3CT34xPiwehA%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR87494HwZA

Peter Arno
eBay item description

[End of eBay listing]

It has since been relisted at a discount.

There is a much better image of the completed puzzle in an old eBay listing archived on Worthpoint:

"Peek-a-boo!"
Peter Arno

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1933-inner-sanctum-picture-470003245

"Peek-a-boo!"
Peter Arno

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1933-inner-sanctum-picture-470003245

Picture Puzzle no. 2, is called Animals in a Speakeasy. The image is by Tony Sarg who was well known as an illustrator and puppeteer.

Tony Sarg's signature indicates a 1932 date of creation.

Animals in a Speakeasy
Tony Sarg

Animals in a Speakeasy
Tony Sarg

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tony-sarg-1933-inner-sanctum-picture-510059375

An example is currently available on Facebook Marketplace for $29 plus shipping:

Animals in a Speakeasy
Tony Sarg

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/427154176254687/

Otto Soglow's Little King is featured on the last of the Picture Puzzles, no. 3. It is called King on Roller Skates. Happily, Shay's Puzzle Workshop has great images of the box and the completed puzzle here.

King on Roller Skates
Otto Soglow

No. 4, then, is Oompah! by William Steig. Images of this puzzle are on the flickr account of dajavous. I had to rotate them for your viewing pleasure.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/50241745@N05/30342806614/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/50241745@N05/31020713822/in/photostream/

04811